Angelo Scott's Story of OKC

[Doug Loudenback]

I've decided to give all Okc history lovers an early birthday present (Doug Dawgz Blog will be 3 on July 15) ... and it is The Story of Oklahoma City by Angelo Scott. I've scanned almost half of it so far with the rest to be done by July 15.

Click the image below and Enjoy!

[Steve]

Doug, this is an incredible gift to history buffs citywide and an example of how we can, and should, make local history more accessible to all. Your fellow "conspirator" salutes you.

[Doug Loudenback]

[USG '60]

I can't get Chap 3 to work for me and I am loath to read 4 before it. Help!

[Doug Loudenback]

I can't get Chap 3 to work for me and I am loath to read 4 before it. Help!

Thanks for calling that to my attention. Link should work now.

On Edit: The book is now complete through Chapter 13, Chapter 27, and Index. Only 87 pages to go!

[Doug Loudenback]

I've now added a PDF file containing everything as it exists tonight for those who want it ... at 30 MB it's pretty huge ... but for those who want to save the file to their computers or print the file without dealing with html printing issues, you might want it. Given the file size, it's not for dial-up users. I'll probably make a 2nd PDF file for the remainder of the book when it's done, given the file size of what there is at this point.

[Doug Loudenback]

Added chapters 14 & 15. The PDF version is now 34 mb.

Chapter 15 I found interesting since it relates some personal perspective and experiences of the author concerning our black citizens. Although the tone was somewhat paternalistic, for his day he would clearly be relatively much more progressive than the white majority.

On a technical matter, I wonder if it would help reduce PDF version file size if I used something other than Adobe to create the file. Each page is a single graphic which, in its inserted size, is 800 x 1234 px ... any suggestions about how to reduce the PDF file size? Martin?

[Doug Loudenback]

The whole book which focuses on Oklahoma City's first decade or so is now done.

It is available in multiple-page html format (i.e., chapter-by-chapter) and also in a single-file bookmarked PDF file which you can open and/or download to your own PC as you prefer. If you're mainly just wanting to browse a little and not save the book for yourself, the html version is probably what you want to use since the chapters load more quickly on the internet in the html pages. If you're wanting to save the whole book to your own PC and possibly print it, the PDF version is better. The PDF file is quite large (51.5 MB) but it is bookmarked and opens in bookmark view. The bookmarks allow you to quickly and easily navigate through the full 208 page book. But, unless you are on a broadband connection, it will take a ****-load of time to open in your web browser and/or download to your PC so I don't recommend opening or downloading the PDF file if you are on a dial-up connection since 51.5 MB is a whopper of a file to open or save via a dial-up connection.

If you find navigation or other errors, I'd be grateful if you let me know so that I can fix 'em. Unless there are further comments, I expect this to be my last post in this thread, and I hope that you enjoy the book.

I'll close this by saying ...

Oklahoma City, you go, Girl!

Early day Oklahoman graphics identified Oklahoma City's gender as feminine, perhaps analogous to watercrafts and such, and that presents no problem to me! One such example, a 1909 Oklahoman illustration from my Trolleys Part 1 article, is shown below.

[Martin]

just now seeing this thread...

the pdf size could be greatly reduced if the pages weren't in full color... i'd convert a copy of the graphics to grayscale and then rebuild the pdf.

-M

[Doug Loudenback]

just now seeing this thread...

the pdf size could be greatly reduced if the pages weren't in full color... i'd convert a copy of the graphics to grayscale and then rebuild the pdf.

-M

NOW you tell me! Maybe later.

[Martin]

rebuilding the pdf, i'd presume, is a snap... converting all the images is where you're probably thinking most of the time will be spent. if you're using photoshop, that process can be automated. you just tell the batch process what to do, the files to operate on, click 'go' and then let it do its thing.

-M

[Doug Loudenback]

Thanks, Martin, the revision is now done and uploaded.

The batch convert was the simplest piece. I used Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 and conversion was, as you said, a snap. I don't have Photoshop, it's too pricey for me!

It took more time to create a new PDF file. I use an old Acrobat version (5.0.1) and I've not changed since it is easy to use, I think easier than the later versions. Dragging & dropping multiple graphic files into it went quickly enough but recreating the bookmarks took the most time. The file size, while a good bit better than the 51.5 MB of the original, is still pretty hefty at 39.4 MB, but that's a well-worthwhile improvement.

Thanks for your good suggestion.