Transcribe an 1829 handwritten deed with Claude and check it against a manual copy

Your prompt

Before you start, ask me 1–3 short questions about the details below and wait for my answers. Once I've answered, confirm the plan in one line and run the whole task start to finish.

Goal: Transcribe a handwritten historical record exactly as written, flagging anything uncertain, so I can check it line by line.

Questions to ask me first:
- What kind of record is it, and from where and when?
- Which names, places and dates do you already know from other records?
- Do you want spelling kept exactly as written?

Inputs (fill in or confirm):
- Image of the record: [IMAGE]
- Record type, place and date: [e.g., DEED / LINCOLN COUNTY, NC / 1829]
- Known names and places: [NAMES]
- My own transcription, if I have one: [TRANSCRIPTION]

Rules:
- Keep original spelling, capitalization, abbreviations and line breaks; don't modernize anything.
- Put unreadable or uncertain words in [brackets?] with your best guess.
- Mark superscript letters as written.
- Treat names and dates as the highest risk and list each one separately for me to check.

Checkpoint: Transcribe the first 10 lines and wait for me to check them before continuing.

If you get stuck: If the image is too faint or cropped, tell me which lines and ask for a closer image.

Verify before you finish: If I give you my transcription, list every difference between ours, line by line, without assuming either is right.

Output: A line-by-line transcription, a list of uncertain words and a names-and-dates checklist.

Done when: I have a transcription I've checked against the original image.

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