Translating and editing
Once in a while I used to do some proofreading for friends and, if they wished so, I also did some editing and correction work on their texts. Sometimes translating was requested as well, EN-NL, NL-EN, and, more rarely, something from French, German or Italian. The real thing started by coincidence and in a funny manner: I saw a DIY kit for a Tudor doll offered by The Tudor Tailor on the Etsy website. In the description a number of details were translated in a very curious manner, the most flagrant of them under the tools needed to put the doll together: a piece of dressmaker’s chalk was translated as ‘een kleermaker van krijt’ (a chalk dressmaker). I asked Jane Malcolm-Davies of TTT if she was aware of this and offered a better translation. Unfortunately Etsy swears by Google Translate and doesn’t accept educated translation, but for me this was the beginning of doing translations for Jane.
From one thing came another and thus I have been working for quite some time now on a (partial) translation of Hanna Zimmerman’s dissertation Textiel in context, about the archaeological textile objects excavated in Groningen by the end of the past century. This extraordinary book, written by a woman who was just as extraordinary, was published in 2007. The finds consist amongst others of, sometimes unique, (parts of) garments from the 16th century, which are of worldwide interest. However, the thesis being written in Dutch, it is not accessible to that worldwide public. Over the years the demand for an English translation has only increased and I consider it a great honour to be allowed to work on that. Jane Malcolm-Davies acts as an editor and The Tudor Tailor will publish the translation, which will be illustrated with new, digital photographs of the finds. www.tudortailor.com
My work as one of the editors of Kostuum, the beautiful yearbook of the Dutch Costume Society also started as a happy coincidence. A friend who had been taking care of translating the summaries of the articles to be published, had to quit this job. She introduced me to the board of editors – and within months I was, with great pleasure!, up to my ears in full-fledged editing work. My knowledge of textile and dress which years ago was mostly limited to the 16th-18th centuries, has expanded in no time to a whole range of aspects, from regional traditional costume to lace, from jewellery to fashion houses from circa 1900.
© Dorothée Wortelboer 2024