Project: Reproduction of
VL Oliver's

-- James C. "Jim" Lynch --
Last updated - April 19, 2008

Welcome...

This Project has now completed a reproduction of Vere Langford Oliver's 'Caribbeana' in 8 volumes. Volumes 1 to 7 make up a complete set, and Volume 8 repeats the Indexes only (for institutional and research purposes).

These books do exist and have already started shipping. The first sets went out on May 11, 2000.

 

Description...

This set of books was first printed about 1914, and is a genealogical work covering most islands of the Caribbean.

The Editor, Vere Langford Oliver, was a tireless collector of material, and researchers can be grateful that he chose to publish many of his findings in a journal - like a newsletter - issued to subscribers and limited to one hundred copies, which he chose to call "Caribbeana: being miscellaneous papers relating to the history, genealogy, topography and antiquities of the British West Indies".

The work appeared in quarterly parts from 1910 to 1920, making five full volumes in all and an incomplete sixth volume. It ran as a journal over more years than Oliver would have liked, owing to the intervention of the First World War, but includes at least some material for nearly all the islands of the West Indies, including calendars and transcriptions of parish registers, wills and deeds, correspondence, pedigrees, extracts from newspapers, extensive notes on families and a host of illustrations.

Fully indexed, Caribbeana is easy to consult and fascinating to browse through - a gold mine for the Caribbean researcher. Its main series of pedigrees is indexed in J.B.Whitmore's Genealogical Guide (1953).

See the full Preface HERE

 

 

· Pick-up (collection, no shipping) pricing is in this colour
· Postal Delivery pricing is in this colour
· Courier Delivery pricing is in this colour

  

Other valuable and useful Caribbean genealogy publications also available from this specialist micro-publisher: VL Oliver's "History of Antigua" Kent's "Barbados and America" "Old Barbados Newspapers" (2 vols)

Buying the books...

Other than PayPal:
  
If you are interested in purchasing a set, please complete, print and mail in the Order Form with payment by bank draft in US$ (please, no personal cheques/checks). You can contact me with any questions through one of the mediums below - I would be happy to try to answer any questions you may have.

2003

I have set up an account with PayPal to accept credit cards - please just click on the PayPal button appropriate to level of payment, then send me an email specifying the postal address of destination.

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2005

I have commissioned a print run of 10 sets for 2005 which will be available for shipping in the second week of August.

In view of the very poor performance of my last printer, I have had to start again and the scanning and proofing process has taken quite a long time. I have also suffered added major expense to make this new start, and this was unavoidable.

Sale prices and conditions remain the same as before.

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2005

New sets of these books are now ready for shipping (2005 Edition).

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2006

Another short print run has been completed. Sets are available immediately from stock.

 

Suggestions...

If you cannot afford the individual books or full sets, you might consider asking your local library to purchase a set instead, and have access to them that way. A list of Libraries who have already purchased the set is below...

I would be happy to contact any library for you, but yhou must understand that my approach will be taken lightly as commercial advertising, while your personal approach would be seen as a legitimate request and a need that will be taken more seriously. An even better process is a number of user requests for the same book/s, and you could make the acquisition easier (and faster) by also supplying the library with the internet address of this page.

 

 

The books...

Dimensions

8.75" wide x 11.25" tall in size, these high quality books are now only available 8-volume sets. When set to stand conventionally on a bookshelf, an 8-volume set occupies 11" of shelf width.

Material

The contents are printed on strong, double-thickness paper for longevity, and are expected to persist for at least 150 years under constant use. Aimed at the pounding taken by books in research use, institutions and public libraries, they are hard-backed in buckram with lay-flat bindings, and are fully hand-bound by a professional craftsmen binder.

Features

Standard additional features:

- three crimson bookmark ribbons embedded in each binding;

- cover and spine impressed with titles in gold leaf; and

- lined "Notes" pages added in the back of each Volume.

Contents

Important: Volume 6 includes combined amateur Indexes missing from the original sets, which have been re-typed, proofed and reformatted to resemble the originals from volumes 1 to 5.

The "Registers of St. Thomas and Middle Island" and two sections of "West Indian Bookplates" have been combined to make up the new Volume 7, and all of the Indexes from Volumes 1 to 7 are all collected again in one volume as the new Volume 8.

Please note: Each Volume contains its own index. The indexes have NOT been removed from each Volume, simply REPEATED again in Volume 8 for research purposes (the ability to find and note references in a separate index volume before locating the pages saves wear and tear on the others).

Libraries

Sets of "Caribbeana" and/or "History of Antigua" have been acquired to the following libraries (among others). You are welcome to contact them and ask for independent assessments:

 Metro Toronto Reference Library
 Cleveland Public Library
 Duke University
 Society of Genealogists, London (UK)
 Barbados Museum & Historical Society Library
 National Library of Canada
 University of the West Indies - Cave Hill, Barbados
 Boston College Library
 University of South Florida - Tampa
 Barbados Department of Archives
 Antigua Department of Archives
 St. Kitts Department of Archives
 O'Neill Library, Boston College, Massachusetts
 Library: Daughters of the American Revolution
 Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
 Michigan State University
 University of Texas, Austin
 Indian River Library, Vero Beach, Florida
 UK National Archives (in Kew, Surrey)

Shipping times - Please note:

Canada Post is still notoriously slow, despite very high postage charges - and even then sales tax is added to all postage fees. I have no alternative ask for your indulgence in this area, as I have absolutely no control over it.

In my own personal experience they have taken 8 (eight) business days to deliver a letter across three city blocks in Toronto, and some time back they took six months to deliver a set of "History of Antigua" to Anguilla - and that set was sent by AIR MAIL!!

Shipping times experienced so far (surface parcel post):

UK: 28 days, 36 days
US: 11 days, 14 days
Barbados: FedEx made a next-day delivery.

 

 

Contacts...

Please feel free to direct any enquiries here, or contact me in one of the following ways:

Contacts:

James C. Lynch
128 Snowshoe Crescent
Thornhill, ON L3T4M9

Tel: (905) 881-5197
  
contact me by email here

Personal References

This page is located at http://www.candoo.com/olivers/caribbeana.html

 

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