Every few years, I go on a quest to find someone I've never met. This time it is a gentleman by the name of Peter King, whom I suspect lives somewhere in Wales and writes about Iron production in Medieval England. Let me explain.
Like many others, whenever my offprints for an article arrive, I immediately go about identifying authors whom I have cited and their potential addresses. In my latest article, Disease War and Waste: A consideration of External Factors on the Trade Fixtures Doctrine between 1324-1850, I cited Peter King who wrote an article in the Journal of Economic History in 2006 titled The Production and Consumption of Bar Iron in Early Modern England and Wales.
My search began at SSRN where I found the article in question and a Peter King who was unaffiliated. But I also discovered another Peter King, professor at DeMontifort University in Leicaster, to whom I sent the following email:
Dear Professor King (Peter if I may):
I believe I cited you in a recent article I wrote titled Disease War and Waste: A Consideration of External Factors on the Trade Fixtures Doctrine between 1324-1850. I say I believe, because looking over your publication list on your faculty website I do not find the article that I cited. The article that I am looking for is The Production and Consumption of Bar Iron in Early Modern England, from the Journal of Economic History.
I would like to send you an offprint regardless of whether you wrote the above referenced article, but would be most pleased if you would let me know whether you are are the author of the article above; that way I know whether to commence a further search of a yet unfound Peter King.
I am most gracious for any assistance.
Best,
Marc L. RoarkProfessor King kindly wrote back:
Dear Marc,
It's good to hear from you, but I'm afraid you have the wrong person. I think you are referring to the Peter King who is Professor of Local History at Leicester University. See his details at:http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/historical/people/pking.
It is a coincidence that there are two academics of the same name at different institutions in Leicester, and we do get confused for each other on occasion. I hope the article is well received.
Best wishes
Peter
Of course, with the trail, warm as it was, I immediately sent the same email to the newly found Peter King, to which at this point, no reply has been received. Still in hot pursuit, I also identified other Peter Kings, namely the Congressman from New York's 2nd District, the mystery writer and Cordon Bleu-trained chef and retired mettalurgist (promising), and the sports writer, to name a few. I have not ruled out that the Peter King I am looking for is just simply trying to figure out how to merge his advanced knowledge of Professional Football or culinary artistry with medieval iron usage together in one groundbreaking piece.
However, through the investigatory work of my able-bodied research assistant, we have discovered a Wikipedia page that could lead to the correct Peter King, though no contact information or other affiliation is described.
Which leads to my bleg title, Desperately Seeking Peter King. If you know Peter King, know a Peter King who would like to receive an offprint, or you would like an offprint yourself, drop me a line.
Update: 10:56 AM
I have received several emails identifying other Peter King's for whom I might follow up. There is Peter King the Rugby Style Football Player, the artist Peter King (who ironically paints Rugby Players), Peter King from Bartlesville, OK (near Tulsa where I began my teaching career), Peter King the Philosophy Don at Pembroke College at Oxford, Peter King the Jazz Saxaphonist, and Peter King the Jazz Club owner, to name a few. It seems that when your name is Peter King, you are bound to have overlapping interests with other Peter Kings. How fitting then, to add Peter King the Jazz Saxaphonists "Lush Life" at the end.
Comments