About GARD Dates

Dates will be displayed in GARD in one of the following ways:

1900 01/01/1900	Direct	The date or year is known directly because it is referenced on the item itself.
[1900] [01/01/1900] [1850-1875]	Assumed	The date or year or range is assumed with some certainty based upon fact. Where, it's not obvious how the assumption was made, an explanation should be in the notes.
c1900 c1850-1875	Circa	The date or range is a best guess and could be significantly wrong. It should not be used definitively.

For table-specific information on dates and earliest reference date value calculation, see Date Technical Details.

Richard Ballam's Notes on Date Entry

Make best guess of when your Example of the game was made. So if Jaques made Snap over a long period, you would look at packaging, clearness of print, the Jaques address given etc. That might leave you guessing 1875-95 for your one, but usually it's a shorter span.

If you have a one off item not made over a long period I usually try to put a fixed date, which the form shows as circa unless you enter otherwise.

Dating for a new Maker entry can be difficult if you do not know. Often it is a new maker with only one or two games, which themselves are guessed at, say, c1895 and c1902, in which case I have been entering 1895-1902 for maker dates, not carrying out biographical research.

It's easy once you get used to it. First I look in Examples for same game name, to see what we have already, and to note any links to maker, author, etc. Then I look in Maker table for the maker, and write a note of its UID or a list of UIDs if I am doing several. If we dont have the maker already I create maker first and note the UID the programme gives it. Then when I enter the Example I fill all the boxes, then, 'Create' BEFORE trying to add link. Check what you've created, then you will find the option to add links to the UID number for maker etc you have made the note of. With certain makers such as 'Roberts' it's particularly important to give some thought to the confidence on the link - Certain, Probable or Possible.