Journal Book Original: minutes of meetings of the Royal Society The Journal Books series contains recorded minutes of the ordinary, special and anniversary meetings of the Society. The nature of the information recorded varies somewhat over time but typically set out the following: person in the chair; notice of proposed Fellows, elections to the Fellowship and Council; non-Fellows given leave to be present; books and rarities presented to the Society; committees formed; information reported or desired by Fellows and their contacts; experiments and investigations carried out or designated to be carried out by Fellows. By the 18th century far fewer experiments and demonstrations were carried out at meetings themselves. Letters and papers read before the Society are given in abstract sometimes with summary of the subsequent discussion. By the 19th century much of this earlier detail is lost, so that, for example, only titles of papers are recorded. Minutes do not include a register of Fellows present at meetings, nor is such a register to be found in any surviving records of the Society. 1660-