ANTIQUE APPRAISAL: ANTIQUE MANUSCRIPT APPRAISAL

Antique manuscripts or literary manuscripts, are considered handwritten texts of works of creative literature. An antique manuscript appraisal at EmailAppraisals.com is performed by an expert trained in the field of imaginative and creative writing with the ability to understand and evaluate the text from a literary standpoint, but also be able judge the artistic merit of the writer.

The majority of antique manuscript appraisals performed by our professional staff require knowledge of handwriting, the historical study of which is called paleography. The reason is that the history of handwriting shows a definite line of development which is an essential ingredient to determine the age of the manuscript and whether it is truly an antique manuscript.

Another facet in the field of antique manuscript appraisals requires the appraiser to study the make-up of a manuscript, because there will invariably be several different physical layers. A well known poet, for example, may have his work copied by others and sent in packages to the publisher. The knowledge that others were involved is important information for the appraiser because it may answer the question concerning authentication and provenance. An antique manuscript appraisal expert must be trained and experienced in knowing where and how to seek factual historical information in support of the value opinion.

Literary works copied by the author are seldom seen before the 16th century. This bit of information helps the antique manuscript appraisal expert to properly date and authenticate the work. The additional copies of a popular manuscript were normally done by full-time scribes. The antique manuscript appraisal expert can discern the original from the copies by carefully studying the handwriting examples.