Hello,
I am looking for an original copy of the 1930 Boundaries and Adjacent Properties by Skelton. I just missed the one that was posted in the auction section.
thank you!
I am also interested in other older surveying books. I guess I like to collect them.
Check here:
https://rpls.com/forums/fundraiser-forum/
I have a number up for bidding. The winning bid sends the money to @wendell to support RPLS and i only ask for shipping costs.
I wish you good luck in your search.
That was the hardest survey book to find and one of the most expense to purchase in my library.
An actual 1930 printed copy of that book will run you north of $400. It has been faithfully reprinted more recently and copies of that version - perhaps not the highest quality example of the bookbinders art - can be had for under $100. I own one of these reprints. It cost me $15 in 1997. It's an interesting piece to own but I think it is over rated as a source.
It's an interesting piece to own but I think it is over rated as a source
For me the value of Skelton isn't as source material; it's in the way the author approaches thinking about the application of common law.
So much of it follows the framework of 1) Here is a boundary law principle, 2) here are the cases that establish that principle and, 3) here are cases where the contrary was shown. It's a good counterpoint to the texts that lay out, for example, the rules of construction ranked in order when that order should really be footnoted with "No. 1 is only No 1 when it best expresses the intent off the parties at the time of the original grant"
Plus, it does seem weighed toward metes & bounds and urban environments, which makes sense as Skelton was an engineering professor at the University of Maryland
@norman-oklahoma Was the one that was on auctioned about a month ago original or a reprint? How can you tell the difference?
For me the value of Skelton isn't as source material; it's in the way the author approaches thinking about the application of common law.
I didn't say that it was without value. Only that I thought that it is overrated.
How can you tell the difference?
My 1997 reprint has very heavy hardboard core covers and a statement on the flyleaf stating that it is a reprint by the Michie Company. The 1930 printing has a much thinner cover and is printed on higher quality paper. I'm sure that the version pictured on WilliamH's posting above is a reprint.
To clarify my "the value of Skelton isn't as source material" statement. I feel it's probably one of the 2 or 3 the most important texts in my development as a surveyor; but not as a reference book for looking up how to proceed with a certain set of evidence, rather how to think holistically about applying case law to boundary retracement. And for me learning how to do something always ranks way below learning how to think about something.
.... how to think holistically about applying case law ......
Then you might like the book "Logic for Lawyers".
when I took the NY LS exam, I had two texts - Skelton, and oddly enough the "Surveying Handbook". I passed.