Referencing system

Editorial numbering of the workdiaries

The workdiaries have been arranged in chronological order and given a number from 1 to 40.

Editorial numbering of the entries

In many workdiaries, each of the entries was given a number, either at the time when they were written or retrospectively. Since these numbers were given to them by Boyle, we consider these the most satisfactory references for material in the workdiaries. We allude to them in the form 22-132, i.e., Workdiary 22, Entry 132. In some cases the numbering goes wrong, and we have corrected it: for instance, in Workdiary 21, entries 395-400 were misnumbered, while in Workdiary 22 a numeration error that began at 44 resulted in entries 67-76 being repeated (we have denoted the duplicate entries '67a', etc.) For consistency, we have added editorial numbering in cases where entries lack numbers: this applies to Workdiaries 1-11, 23-7, 30-5 and 39-40.

Ordering of material within workdiaries

Where there is clear evidence that a workdiary has been misbound, we have presented the leaves in their original order (e.g., Workdiaries 9, 15, 26). In the case of Workdiary 33, a notebook used first from one end, then turned upside down and used from the other, we have presented the entries in the order in which they were apparently written. In certain cases (e.g., Workdiary 21) it has not proved possible to reconstruct the history of the manuscript in a satisfactory way, and we have therefore followed the archival ordering.

Blank pages

The images are of the individual pages of the workdiaries, and have been created by splitting photographs taken of double-page spreads. Wholly blank leaves have not been included. Their existence is recorded immediately prior to the archival reference for the page that follows them in the form [BP 27, p. 56]. A schedule of blank pages for each workdiary in which they appear is provided in the headnote to the workdiary in question. It has not seemed appropriate to reproduce these pages since they are generally completely blank. Very occasionally they show signs of wear, for instance BP 27, p. 112 (Workdiary 21) or BP 25, p. 84 (Workdiary 35). These will be fully visible in the reproductions of the relevant openings, as against pages, of the manuscripts in question on the Boyle website.

Cover sheets

In the handful of cases where a cover sheet for a workdiary survives, this has been reproduced facing the introductory page of the workdiary in question, in which a description of it will be found. The workdiaries in question are 19, 21, 22, 24 and 28. In the case of Workdiaries 19 and 24, the coversheet appears between the two workdiaries and it is not clear to which it relates: it has therefore been reproduced in conjunction with both.

Dating of workdiaries and entries

Some workdiaries include the date when they were commenced as part of their title: see workdiaries 1, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 34, 35, 39. In other cases, entries were given authorial dates when they were written, while elsewhere we have tried to assign editorial dates to entries on the basis of their position in relation to dated entries, on the presumption that any entry that follows a dated entry must date from between the date of that and the date of the next dated entry. In some cases, hardly any or no entries are dated, and in these cases we have assigned an overall date to the workdiary on the basis of handwriting and other evidence.

Archival references

The workdiaries are preserved among the Boyle Papers at the Royal Society (except for Workdiaries 18 and 33, which are to be found among the Boyle notebooks preserved as part of the general manuscript sequence at the Royal Society, and Workdiary 26, which is in the Additional Manuscripts in the British Library). Each page therefore also has an archival reference denoting its position in the archive in which it is to be found. The overall archival reference for each workdiary is given in the introductory page of the workdiary in question, and each page break is then recorded in the text in square brackets. In the Boyle Papers, some volumes are foliated and some are paginated. To cross refer between archival and editorial references see Conversions