| Description | Records of gifts made to the Royal Society compiled in chronological order. The volume commences by recording information in a straightforwardly chronological order until November 1838. During this period, the details recorded are: date received, a description of the donation, when it was presented, when acknowledged by letter and (in the case of printed works) if the item was entered into the Royal Society's catalogue of printed books. Books and journals are checked in pencil and the location marks entered into the final column.
There is a gap in the record December 1838 - January 1844. When the volume recommences, the information recorded is abbreviated to: date of receipt, item and donor. The chronological format is also amended, so that gifts are recorded to co-incide with meeting dates of the Royal Society. Much of the volume is blank, but there has been an attempt to record material in a more classified way, although just a few of these entries were made.
The majority of gifts are publications, usually presented by the author or orginating institution. The volume was also used to record donations of portraits, prints and other non-routine acquisitions.
Possibly kept as a means of producing the annual printed lists of presents, appearing in the Society's Philosophical Transactions. |