Why I Try to Post a Picture a Day: Volume of Historical Sources

As I’ve embarked on an experiment to post a picture a day on LinkedIn, I found that I had not actually explained at any point why I continue to do so. I think most assume it was for marketing purposes, and that is partially true. It is difficult to get the word out on articles or upcoming works at times, so it certainly does not hurt to have some name recognition from the activity.

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Still, it doesn’t quite tell the full story. I started this because I realized something as I reviewed the endnotes for my upcoming book, The Silent Service’s First Hero. While I use a large amount of primary and secondary sources, I wondered what the ratio of sources I’ve cited vs. read/seen would be if I kept track of everything that crossed my path? Over three years of research, I couldn’t even imagine the volume of sources. I couldn’t even tell you the amount of hours I put into the work. I look at the pictures my wife has taken of me, sitting in my writing chair with my cat, two bookshelves, and books strewn about my person, and I know they represent just a small fraction of the sources I’ve actually read, viewed, watched, transcribed etc. Thus, me sharing pictures is often sharing some of the sources I’ve used.

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Those who are not historians will not see the volume and for a good reason (a note here, thank you to all the archivists who make such work possible). There is a deliberate process to find the best sources that most accurately represent the full context of the subject, without omitting valuable information that is necessary to come to the conclusion I did. There is always information that is interesting, but not pertinent to a particular point. Or errors, such as misspelling, wrong dates, or other errata that prevented a source from utilization (a common occurrence in newspapers). Sometimes there is even contradictory information, but unless it is particularly egregiously bad, I will rarely omit because contradictions in source material could offer insight into the full scope of the inquiry. The point is, there are often good reasons as to why I have chosen the sources I have, with careful study to verify the veracity of the information contained within.

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That does not mean that the sources I don’t use will not be of value to others, however. Or that others have new information could make the source more pertinent to a particular subject. While I am a historian, I am not an expert on all of history. I have focused my time on understanding the uniqueness of a few areas, I am not ashamed to admit others have done more research in areas than I have. I hope the images I post, which are often the best way to introduce a topic, reach people who are interested in researching the topic and can use it in their own research. We can ultimately peer-review sources together, using a social media platform, to even better understand the sources we utilize.

And if it helps people associate my name with the topics I research, I hope you won’t begrudge me; as much as we wish it weren't so, marketing is part of the game.