comparison with "Vaticanus ... looks older ... suffered more from the ravages of time" leaves not so fresh

[Steven Avery]

Vaticanus and Sinaiticus have similar theorized histories, with various century-by-century markings (Wieland Willker compiled the Vaticanus, we have a Sinaiticus chronology here).

Surprisingly, there are so far few comparisons of the parchment, but that is because few people have handled either one, much less both. Scrivener gives us one comparison.

Scrivener points out that he thought the material was "fresh".

"Yet one of the few critics who has enjoyed the privilege of examining both copies, has told us that he was particularly impressed with the marks of greater age patent in the Codex Vaticanus; it looks older, and has suffered more from the ravages of time; none of its leaves seem by any means so fresh as do some portions of its rival. ... one of the most fair and competent of living judges"

The Christian Remembrancer, Volume 51 (1866)
Tischendorf's Latest Edition of the Greek New Tesament
https://books.google.com/books?id=3rwRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA391

Tischendorf would be unlikely to admit this, and would be named. So the critic here is likely Tregelles. who saw Vaticanus in 1845 and Sinaiticus in 1850 and 1862. Plus while Scrivener would likely praise the fairness of Tregelles, he in fact based his own early dating of Sinaiticus largely on the reports from Tregelles.

 

[Steven Avery]

facsimiles are almost useless for the age of a ms.

Scrivener added an ironic warning:

the most skilful facsimiles are almost useless in such a matter; a question so nice cannot well be decided when these documents are seen even by the same eyes, but after an interval of years

Yet almost all Sinaiticus early palaeography anallysis was based on the Tischendorf facsimile!

Even Tregelles had also dated the ms. before he had seen it, and with the awkward Tischendorf relationship, as a supplicant, he could easily end up missing the basics.

We see above that he did recognize that one ms. looked much older than the other, but then just moved on. (Although he tried to say that the Vienna Dioscorides was similar to Sinaiticus.)