Original vs reproduction pilots notes?

[humberdink]

Hi how do you tell the difference between original and reprinted pilots notes for WWII British aircraft? I'm looking for some for the Lysander but see some are original and some are reprints with vastly different prices and don't really know what the difference between them is (aside from the above obviously) or how to tell them apart?

Thanks

 

[TimO.]

It is a good question. Once you have handled both it becomes much easier to tell them apart but here are a few indicators. I have a number of original Pilots Notes and a few copies. As with most copies, the difference between originals and copies is in the wear and tear but also in the subtle details. Originals have crisp printing, while copies have text that appears slightly blurred. Copies typically have stainless steel staples, while originals have mild steel, typically slightly rusty staples. The pages in original copies tend to be yellow tinted while copies are bright white. Originals typically smell old and musty but copies smell new! These things matter if you are a collector of original items but if you just want the contents, the copies provide that at a much lower price. I hope this helps a little.

 

[MiTasol]

TECHNICALLY even the best of the reproductions often have less information, especially on British PNs, than the originals as many of the amendments/revisions were pasted in with a thin line of glue down one edge so that the user could read what was below the amendment.

Repros often leave out the Amendment record.

On repro's you lose that information because they just white out the edges of the amendment strip and/or delete the document number and all dates in the document.

Some repros are retyped and again they often leave out either the original or revised text.

Have a look at the various PNs I have posted and you will see that they include both the revised and unrevised material where possible.