| Reference number | AP |
| Level | Fonds |
| Title | Archived Papers |
| Date | 1768-1989 |
| Description | Scientific papers sent to the Royal Society which remained unpublished at their time of receipt, or which were abstracted in the Society's journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society' after being read at a meeting of Fellows but not published in full.
Early papers in this sequence are occasionally of interest in being preserved complete with associated correspondence (pre-dating Referees Reports); for example, the Charles Wildbore - Nevil Maskelyne letters 1787-1790 (AP/7/16-34).
Mid nineteenth century papers of some significance may exist, in both original and abstracted form, such as Henry William Fox Talbot's 'Some account of the art of photogenic drawing' (AP/23/19).
The Society's policy now is to return rejected scientific papers to authors, so later additions to this collection generally take the form of unpublished supplementary data to published papers. |
| Extent | 1608 papers in 79 bound volumes, and 9 boxes of single papers |
| Format | Manuscript |
| Typescript |
| Arrangement | Generally in chronological order, and alphabetically by author within each set to 1920.
Volumes 1-3, containing papers that are largely post-1800, are exceptional in being ordered by author only (volume 1 A-C, volume 2 D-K, Volume 3 L-W). The nine boxes of single papers contain ungathered material from 1851, and supplementary material to published papers such as tables, photographs, and addenda rather than complete texts of papers. |
| Digital images | View item on Science in the Making |
| Finding aids | Each volume contains a list of contents, except for volumes 61-64 for the period 1881-1887. The papers are listed in the Archive Card Catalogue, listing author, title, location, extent of manuscripts and illustrations, reference to 'Proceedings' publication, and to Referees Reports (if any) |
| Access status | Open |
| Administrative history | Scientific papers sent to the Society with a view to publishing, these were either not published or abstracted after being read at meetings of Fellows, and subsequently deposited in the archives. |
| Related records in the catalogue | PP |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | Name | Dates |
| NA5553 | Maskelyne; Nevil (1732 - 1811) | 1732 - 1811 |