User:Quadell/Proofing swap meet

The Proofing Swap Meet
Are you proud of a work you have imported to Wikisource? If so, the best way to give that work the recognition it deserves is to make it a Featured text. (Featured texts are protected from vandalism, and are placed on the main page.) But you can't do it alone: a work must have been proofread by multiple editors to be eligible to be featured. And convincing other editors to proofread your work isn't easy. That's why I created the proofing swap meet. I'm willing to proofread one of your texts if you'll proofread one of mine. Other people may wish to swap proofing services here as well.

Any of my contributions listed at User:Quadell/Contributions is available for swapping. Below are some specific examples of texts I've imported, that I'd love to see featured. If you have some yourself, make me an offer on my talk page, telling me which text you're willing to proofread, and what text you'd like me to proofread.

Long texts
These texts are whole books. Pick on of these if you have a long text you'd like me to proofread.


 * The American Language by Author:H. L. Mencken
 * 'The American Language' is Mencken's 1919 book about changes Americans had made to the English Language. The book discusses the beginnings of American variations from English, the spread of these variations, American names and slang over the course of its 374 pages. According to Mencken, American English was more colourful, vivid, and creative than its British counterpart.
 * Online text at Bartleby, scans of pages at Google Books


 * Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Author:Fannie Farmer
 * First published 1896, this updated version was published in 1918 after Farmers' death, but still authored completely by her. Now called the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook", new editions are still being created and sold.
 * Online text at Bartleby.com, scans of pages at The Internet Archive.


 * Life of Jesus by Author:Ernest Renan
 * Originally published in 1863 as Vie de Jésus (available on the French Wikisource), this hugely popular book was a seminal work in the search for the "historical Jesus". The book's controversial assertions that the life of Jesus should be written like the life of any other man, and that the Bible could be subject to the same critical scrutiny as other historical documents sparked a flurry of debate, and enraged the Roman Catholic Church.
 * Online text is at, proofed by Distributed Proofreaders. Scans of pages are at Amazon.com

Medium texts
These are a shorter than a book, but longer than a pamphlet: short stories, plays, etc.


 * Beyond the Horizon by Author:Eugene O'Neill
 * A Pulitzer-Prize winning 3-act play about two men love the same woman, spanning a decade.

Short texts
These are a single page. You should be able to proofread one of these fairly quickly. Pick one of these if the text you'd like me to proofread is short.


 * Strivings of the Negro People by Author:William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
 * One of Du Bois' most effective essays, first published in the Atlantic Monthly, 1897
 * Online text at race.eserver.org, and independently available at the University of Virginia Library. No online pagescans found.


 * Charleston Mercury editorial on the Dred Scott case
 * Published in 1857 just after the Supreme Court of the United States effectively declared no colored person free anywhere in the country, precipitating the Civil War. This editorial is by a southern, pro-slavery newspaper.
 * Online text at the Secession Era Editorials Project from Furman University (South Carolina). No online pagescans found.


 * Mercy Proclamation by Author:Haile Selassie
 * This speech of July 7, 1940, was made just after the Ethiopian and British armies had kicked the Italian army out of North Africa. It is an impassioned request by the Ethiopian king to treat captured Italian troops with mercy and humanity.
 * Online text at Words of RasTafarI. The original for this translation is the online version, so no pagescan is possible.


 * Letter to the Governor of Barbados, 1671 by Author:George Fox
 * In 1671 [George Fox, founder of Quakerism] went to Barbados and the English settlements in America, remaining two years. From Barbados he wrote a letter to the governor and assembly of the island in which he refuted charges that Quakers were stirring up the slaves to revolt and tried to affirm the orthodoxy of Quaker beliefs; this letter, particularly its doctrinal portions, would two centuries later become important in a division among his followers.
 * Online text at Quaker Heritage Press, and independently transcribed at Chronicle Barbados. No online pagescans found.


 * Polycarp's letter to the Philippians (Lightfoot translation) by Author:Polycarp (or someone writing in his name) during the early 2nd century CE.
 * This translation was made by Author:Joseph Barber Lightfoot in the 19th century
 * Online text at Early Christian Writings. No online pagescans found.


 * John Brown's Speech to the Court at his Trial by Author:John Brown
 * Born in 1800, died in 1859; removed to Kansas in 1855 in order to oppose the extension of slavery; gained a victory over an invading party from Missouri at Ossawatomie in August, 1856; seized the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, October, 1859, for the purpose of arming the negroes for an insurrection; captured two days later, tried by the Commonwealth of Virginia and executed.
 * Online text at Bartleby. No online pagescans found.

Standing offers from others
None yet, but feel free to add one, if none of the texts I mentioned above suits your fancy.