| Description | Manuscripts and occasional proofs of scientific papers sent to the Royal Society which were which were read before meetings of Fellows and printed in full in the journal ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society’. Manuscript material corresponds to volumes 33-56 of the printed publication.
Subjects covered extensively within this series include spectroscopy, astronomy, metallurgy and physiology. Manuscripts of the Bakerian Lectures for 1884, 1885, 1888, 1890, 1891 and 1893 are represented in the series, as well as manuscripts of the Croonian Lectures for 1889 and 1890. Frequent contributors include William and Mary Huggins, John William Strutt (3rd Baron Rayleigh), William Thomson (1st Baron Kelvin), Joseph Norman Lockyer, William de Wiveleslie Abney, George Gabriel Stokes, George Downing Liveing and James Dewar.
Many papers with figures include notes to the engraver and in some cases prints of the engraved figures are included with the papers.
There are a number of papers missing from the series, but it remains relatively complete within the dates specified. 87 papers are unaccounted for, together with some illustrative material. This material is noted in the box list at the end of each subseries from PP/1-PP/18.
Manuscripts of papers abstracted in the 'Proceedings' but not printed in 'Philosophical Transactions' can be found in the Archive Papers series (AP). Manuscripts of papers abstracted in the 'Proceedings', and then printed in 'Philosophical Transactions' can be found in the Philosophical Transactions series (PT). |
| Administrative history | The published 'Proceedings' were issued from 1832 initially as retrospective abstracts of the 'Philosophical Transactions', but from volume 3 as a record of the Society's meetings including abstracts of papers read but not published. Volume 7 (1856) initiated the procedure of publishing full papers in addition to abstracts. |