Yeah, this is an issue. When a date is given as "16th century", it may mean that they didn't have all that much to go on.
The problem, I've found, is that these digital catalogue entries are often taken from stuffy old paper catalogues made at some point in the past. These were not always as thorough as we'd expect today, and either way, much of that information may now be obsolete thanks to new insights in the research.
Case in point, the Beinecke description for the VM, which was based on a pre-radiocarbon dating description made by someone under the spell of the Sunflower. Even though the people at the Beinecke I communicated with at the time agreed that it should be updated (including the then-curator Ray Clemens), this was apparently not the most straightforward thing to do. Nor the most pressing matter on the library's hands, for that matter :)
Thanks for all the work you keep putting in, eggy! I also see you found another interesting German entry in the bottom there.
The problem, I've found, is that these digital catalogue entries are often taken from stuffy old paper catalogues made at some point in the past. These were not always as thorough as we'd expect today, and either way, much of that information may now be obsolete thanks to new insights in the research.
Case in point, the Beinecke description for the VM, which was based on a pre-radiocarbon dating description made by someone under the spell of the Sunflower. Even though the people at the Beinecke I communicated with at the time agreed that it should be updated (including the then-curator Ray Clemens), this was apparently not the most straightforward thing to do. Nor the most pressing matter on the library's hands, for that matter :)
Thanks for all the work you keep putting in, eggy! I also see you found another interesting German entry in the bottom there.