Editing Openai/6967cb19-00ac-8006-95fb-cdd2efe1177b (section)

=== Assistant: Short answer: sometimes yes, sometimes frustratingly no — and it depends on which Gale product and how your library lic… ===
Short answer: sometimes yes, sometimes frustratingly no — and it depends on ''which Gale product'' and ''how your library licences it''.
But there are a few concrete things you can try.

==== In theory, Gale holds two layers for newspapers: ====
# Article layer (the dissected “items” you’re seeing)
# Page image layer (the full scanned page as printed)

The problem is that the interface defaults to layer 1 and often buries layer 2.

==== When you have any of the items open (7, 8, or 9), look carefully for one of these links or icons: ====
* “Page view”
* “View entire page”
* “View page image”
* “Page: [number]” (often tiny, near citation tools)
* A thumbnail strip at the side or bottom

👉 If you click page, it should show the whole sheet, with columns intact.

This option is easy to miss and sometimes only appears after scrolling.

==== If Gale will not show a page view, try this workaround: ====

===== - Open item 9 (the fragment) =====
* Look for anything that says “This article appears on page X”
* Click the page number, not the article title

Sometimes item 9 is the only one correctly linked to the page image.

==== Click Cite or Download (even if you don’t want to): ====
* Some Gale interfaces reveal: - Page number - Page image link only inside citation metadata.

Once you see the page number, look for a “Browse this issue” or “Browse by page” option.

==== If the interface allows it: ====
# Go up to the issue level (e.g. Stamford Mercury – 9 Feb 1715)
# Ignore search results entirely
# Look for: - “Browse issue” - “Browse pages” - Page thumbnails (often unlabeled)

This bypasses the article dissection completely.

==== There are cases where: ====
* Gale has the full page scan
* but your library’s licence only exposes article images
* or the page scan exists but is not linked

In those cases:
* the page is real
* but not retrievable through the UI

This is depressingly common with early newspapers.

==== ### ====

The same issue may exist as a full-page scan on:
* British Newspaper Archive
* Early English Newspapers (EEBO) derivatives
* Local archive digitisation projects

Even if OCR differs, the layout will solve your problem instantly.

===== If you say: =====

: 

they often know a hidden link or can access a staff-only view.

==== What you’re experiencing is not user error. ====

Gale’s model:
* works for 19th–20th century papers
* breaks badly on early 18th-century layout
* treats paragraphs as articles when they never were

You’re trying to read the paper as printed — which is exactly what the system fights against.

===== - Yes, full pages often exist =====
* Sometimes, Gale will show them if you know where to click
* Sometimes, they are effectively locked away
* The dissection you’re seeing is purely technical, not historical

If you want, tell me:
* which Gale platform you’re on (Primary Sources? British Newspapers? via which library)
* and what buttons you can currently see

I can then give you step-by-step clicks tailored to that exact interface.