Very quietly all but one of the 24 volumes of REED have been put online,
and frankly, I find the lack of publicity (or even self-congratulation)
astounding, for REED and its staff and authors, the University of
Toronto and its library and press, the British Library, Internet Archive
(San Francisco), and all should be commended highly for providing public
access to a valuable historic archive.

Stepping into the silence, then, I forward the main part of a post I
sent to the SHAKSPER list a couple of weeks ago (I regularly post about
online books).  The REED set is at the Internet Archive, in the Canadian
Libraries section:
http://www.archive.org/texts/collection.php?collection=toronto&PHPSESSID=32daa1a1cfa3525ed9450d6d4cc51d95

(or http://tinyurl.com/5wms2)

Below I include the URLs for the individual volumes, but if they are not
clickable, just go to Internet Archive > Text > Canadian Libraries, and
search on "Records".  The one volume not yet online is Dorset/Cornwall.
Bibliographic data below is from the REED site:
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~reed/reed.html#more

The project is massive as a printed series and is both space- and
time-consuming on the computer.  The two principal formats are plaintext
and Lizardtech's DjVu to show page facsimiles.  A word on both.

DjVu is something like Adobe Acrobat Reader (for PDFs) but is slower and
clumsier.  As the filesize to browse a volume is the same for
DjVu-via-download or DjVu-via-Java-applet, and your browser requires the
DjVu plugin in any case (click on the logo on each gateway page, or go
to http://www.lizardtech.com/download/dl_options.php?page=doc), I
recommend taking the time to download the files because, offline, DjVu
will work a bit faster with the files locally stored.

Once the plugin is installed and you have downloaded the REED volume in
DjVu format, all you have to do is use File/Open File... in your
browser.  DjVu is designed to work with Internet Explorer and Netscape
but I find it also functions in Firefox.

The plaintext files are the result of fairly good OCR scans but of
course the REED printed-page formatting disappears.  Further, in a
viewer like Notepad, all the paragraphing disappears as well, but
reappears if you save the file in Word.  As with most OCR-created text,
it bears proofreading against the facsimiles.  REED could perhaps
organize a corps of volunteer proofreaders, as Project Gutenberg has
done so successfully (http://www.pgdp.net/).

The 24 REED volumes total more than 13,000 pp.--an average of 568 per
volume.  All 23 available DjVu files would consume 195MB--ranging
individually from 3.2MB to 12.1MB.  The 23 available text files are only
13.2MB total, or 21.2MB as converted to Word.

BTW if you had to buy the REED editions they would set you back
$2,510--plus whatever the two out-of-print volumes would cost.

Here are the REED volume details (UTP=University of Toronto Press):

Bristol (1997), ed. Mark C. Pilkinton. 468pp. UTP. $125.  ISBN:
0-8020-4221-X
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=bristolREED00pilkuoft


Cambridge (1989), ed. J. Alan H. Nelson. 1,502 pp in 2 vols. UTP. $175.
£120.  ISBN: 0-8020-5751-9
Vol. 1:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=cambridgeREED01nelsuoft

Vol. 2:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=cambridgeREED02nelsuoft


Chester (1979), ed. Lawrence M. Clopper. 591 pp. UTP. $60.  £40.  ISBN:
0-8020-5460-9
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=chesterREED00lawruoft


Coventry (1981), ed. R.W. Ingram.  712 pp. University of Toronto Press.
OUT OF PRINT.
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=coventryREED00ingruoft


Cumberland/Westmorland/Gloucestershire (1986), ed. Audrey Douglas and
Peter Greenfield. 548 pp. UTP. $95.  £65.  ISBN: 0-8020-5669-5
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=cumberlandREED00douguoft


Devon (1986), ed. John Wasson. 623 pp. UTP. $100.  £70.  ISBN:
0-8020-5706-3
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=devonREED00wassuoft


Dorset/Cornwall (1999), ed. Rosalind Conklin Hays and C.E. McGee, Sally
L. Joyce and Evelyn S. Newlyn. 720 pp. UTP. $150.  ISBN: 0-8020-4379-8
NOT YET ONLINE

Herefordshire/Worcestershire (1990), ed. David N. Klausner. 734 pp. UTP.
$125.  £85.  ISBN: 0-8020-2758-X
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=herefordREEDklauuoft


Kent: Diocese of Canterbury (2002), ed. James M. Gibson. 1,899 pp in 3
vols. $500. Published in North America by UTP -- ISBN: 0-8020-8726-4 --
and in the EU by the British Library -- ISBN 0-7123-4803-4.
Vol. 1:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=kentcanterburyREED01gibsuoft

Vol. 2:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=kentcanterREED02gibsuoft

Vol. 3:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=kentcanterburyREED03gibsuoft


Lancashire (1991), ed. David George. 600 pp. UTP. $125. £85.  ISBN:
0-8020-2862-4.
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=lancashireREED00georuoft


Newcastle upon Tyne (1982), ed. J.J. Anderson. 216 pp. UTP. $60. £40.
ISBN: 0-8020-5610-5.
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=newcastleREED00andeuoft


Norwich 1540-1642 (1984), ed. David Galloway. 501 pp. UTP. OUT OF PRINT.
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=norwichREED00galluoft


Oxford (2004), ed. John R Elliott, Jr, and Alan H Nelson (University);
Alexandra F Johnston and Diana Wyatt (City).  1,322pp in 2 vols. $400.
Published in North America by UTP -- ISBN: 0-8020-3905-7 -- and in the
EU by the British Library -- ISBN: 0-7123-4856-5.
Vol. 1:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=oxfordREED01elliuoft

Vol. 2:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=oxfordREED02elliuoft


Shropshire (1994), ed. J. Alan B. Somerset (ed). 834 pp in 2 vols. UTP.
$175. £114.  ISBN: 0-8020-0648-8.
Vol. 1:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=shropshireREED01someuoft

Vol. 2:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=shropshireREED02someuoft


Somerset, including Bath (1996), ed. James Stokes with Robert J
Alexander. 1,142 pp in 2 vols. UTP. $175.  £130.  ISBN: 0-8020-0459-8.
Vol. 1:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=somersetREED01stokuoft

Vol. 2:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=somersetREED02stokuoft


Sussex (2000), ed. Cameron Louis.  404 pp. UTP. $150. ISBN: 0-8020-4849-8.
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=sussexREED00louiuoft


York (1979), ed. Alexandra F. Johnston and Margaret Rogerson. 965 pp in
2 vols. UTP. $95.  £65.  ISBN: 0-8020-2304-5.
Vol. 1:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=yorkREED01johnuoft

Vol. 2:
http://www.archive.org/details-db.php?mediatype=texts&identifier=yorkREED02johnuoft


--------------

For generalists on this list (like me), let me observe that a good
amount of REED material is for the specialist--eg, this item from
Bristol, 1562-63 (quoted from the plaintext file):

Mayor's Audits BRO: 04026(7)
p 292* (15--21 November) (Payments)
Item paid to the duches of Soffocke players for pleyinge in the yeld hall
xiij s. iiij d.

But other material will intrigue the generalist--eg, these entries from
Oxford, 1604, on the occasion of James I's visit:

sig B3* (27 August)
After Supper his Majestie, the Queene, and Prince, with the Noblemen,
had a Comedie played before them in Latine in Christ-Church Hall, which
continued the space of three houres and more.

sig Clv* (28 August)
Vpon Wednesday at night after supper, there was a Tragedie set out by
Magdalen Colledge men, acted before his Majestie in Christ-Church Hall,
which was verie long, for it continued from nine till one of the clocke,
The subject whereof was of Aiax and Vlisses, But the deuice was so
costly and curious in setting the same foorth, that it was not thought
teadious, but the King shewed himselfe verie well pleased, and content
with it.
---

Certainly, Andrew Lloyd Webber and other showmen of today still know the
way to fill the seats is with a "deuice...costly and curious in setting"
and not "teadious"!

Three cheers for REED,
Al Magary
Hall's Chronicle Project