Transcription of Estate Papers at the Cape of Good Hope (TEPC)
The TEPC Project is a partnership of the Universities of Cape Town and the Western Cape , the Cape Archives and the National Archives of the Netherlands, funded by the Dutch government. It follows the successful TANAP project that digitized VOC administrative records of the Cape .
An expert team of transcribers and editors have worked in the Archives for the past year, transcribing inventories from the Orphan Chamber records (1690s to 1830s). These valuable records provide a window into what people owned, bought, sold and valued at the Cape , and help us trace the history of households and individuals including slaves.
The fragile original hand-written documents are transformed into digitized versions which are put on the internet, giving easy access to local and international researchers. The transcriptions are accompanied by an introduction, an index of names, dates and references, and a bilingual glossary.
Publications
Two reader-friendly guidebooks (‘Household Inventories at the Cape' and ‘Slaves at the Cape ') and a CD (with the data, bilingual list of terms and introduction to the project) are now available . These will be of interest to people involved in the classroom, in museums and in heritage tourism, as well as archivists and researchers.
‘Households at the Cape : a beginners guide to research'
by Carohn Cornell & Antonia Malan
“If you want to explore Cape households of the 17 th, 18 th and early 19 th century, this book is for you. Do you want to find out about old houses and farmyards and the objects in each room? Are you interested in family life or the relationships between slaves and their owners? Do you want to trace your ancestors? Are you curious about how people made a living or what they wore?
This book will guide you through how to begin your research and how to find related sources. It also tells you how many other people – community researchers, archivists, writers, historians, archaeologists and genealogists – have discovered stories about people and places at the Cape. Even if you are already an experienced researcher, we hope that the guide offers you something of interest.”
Buying the books and CD. Special price if you buy them direct from the Cash Office, in the lobby of the Cape Archives Repository, Roeland Street , Cape Town . Opening times 08h00-15h45 from Monday to Friday. Easy parking right outside. The books cost R80 and the CD costs R70. CASH ONLY PLEASE.
If you cannot visit the Archives, contact Clarke's Bookshop, Long Street, or make a special arrangement with Antonia Malan (amalan@age.uct.ac.za; Tel: (021) 650 2358).
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Information about the TEPC Project
TEPC website: www.capetranscripts.co.za
TANAP website: www.tanap.net/content/activit ies/events
E-mail: info@capetranscripts.co.za
Tel: (021) 650 2358; Fax (021) 650 2352
February 2006 |
