Talk:Tools: Kaggle test data set

Kaislaniemi:
21.6.2018 - I wanted to post some overall thoughts about signatures and markes and wasn't sure where to put them so am putting them here. I may add more later.

1) markes and merchants' marks

Some of the markes make me think of merchants' marks. They're not signatures, but more like markers of ownership, or sometimes simply IDs: merchants used them to mark crates, barrels and parcels, shipments and I guess documents too. They didn't always mean "this is mine", and they didn't only come in shapes & forms specially created for specific individuals. A merchant could have a complex merchant's mark formed of, quite often, a monogram of his initials with some extra decorative branches and a 4-shaped head, but at the same time they could use, as occasion served, their initials, or another symbol or mark, or even just e.g. the letter A, to mark/identify/indicate specific items of merchandise.
How is this relevant to these markes? Well, looking at these markes I can't help thinking that some are squiggles and scratches without broader meaning – the signer has simply 'made his mark'. But to me, some markes look like they might be previously-defined symbols/IDs/tags (what to call them?) that the signer has used or uses elsewhere to mark or flag items or merchandise. This is not something one can prove without further evidence, but let me give some examples to illustrate my point:

• meaningless squiggles: 13/63 f.294v, 13/68 f.20r
• carefully (?) designed symbols: 13/68 f.118r, 13/68 f.121v
• unclear: 13/68 f. 118v

I think the marke on f.121v in particular suggests this: it's clear and well-defined and easily distinguishable, and not a cross with decorations like many (e.g. f.118r).

It may be that too many factors affect these markes for these thoughts to be useful in the analysis. For instance, the marke on f.118v looks fairly distinctive, but it's drawn by a bit wobbly and uncertain hand. And what to make of so many similar symbols, like the anchors? Context is probably key: distinctiveness is only necessary in situations where there are many markes/marks (like the cargo of a large ship); and long-term association of a mark(e) with an individual only necessary when there's a good reason for it (e.g. sustained commerce vs occasional/one-time visits).

2) false starts

I don't know if this has any relevance on anything, it's just an observation, but some of the markers appear to have made two (or more?) attempts at making their marke. E.g. 13/68 f.25r with what looks like an abandoned/crossed-out P-shape to the left of "John"; and 13/68 f.20r looks like the signer first made a squiggle and then perhaps was asked to make another one and double it for visibility? The image ain't great but there's something going on where the scribe then wrote "of the" to the left of the (final?) marke.