https://www.instagram.com/britishroyaljewels/?hl=en
The site is very well presented, examining an eclectic selection of British royal jewels. There does not appear to be a pattern to what is selected and examples of the jewels of Queen Mary might be followed by jewels worn by Queen ELizabeth, Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone and other royal ladies. Each post contains some brief information about the jewel and multiple photos showing the jewel worn, often by various royal ladies over time. The abundance of photographic evidence makes the posts interesting, while at the same time often providing proof of statements about the history or origin of various jewels. The enthusiasm of the site owner for the topic shines through.
I found some of the information on the site different from what is commonly accepted -- for example it is stated that, after Queen Alexandra's death, it was decided to provide a new crown for Queen Mary. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmn8FXlhdIW/?hl=en&taken-by=britishroyaljewels According to the Royal Collection site Queen Mary's crown was made for her coronation in 1911 https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/collection/31704/queen-marys-crown In other instances I was puzzled about what the author was trying to say.
Long term followers of the British royal jewels will realise that some of the information will not be found in published books, although it is well backed up by illustrations. Many aficionados will recognise where some material originates.
The site owner states clearly at the top of the site that all the information and photos come from Google and Pinterest, and I have no doubt this is so.
But Google and Pinterest have not given their users the right to use and present the work of others as their own. Indeed they cannot; they cannot circumvent or over ride intellectual property rights or copyright.
When I checked with Google and Pinterest this morning, they did not have the ability to research in databases or internal library sites needing subscription identification and definitely not in private archives or books or magazines which are not published on the web. Nor could they make deductions, draw inferences, or make parallel connections.
While Google has transformed access to knowledge for many who might never visit a library in their lives, know what an archive is or even read a print version of a newspaper, it has not yet replaced the skills of those who undertake original research. It is not yet able to search inside archives, select, order and pay for documentation, and then interpret the information found.
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