Bodleian Library, Oxford University

MS. Locke c. 37

Part of Robert Boyle’s manuscript of The general history of the air, edited by Locke for publication in 1692.

The manuscript consists of loose papers, some mere scraps, mounted in a guardbook. The chapter titles appear on separate scraps preceeding the leaves containing the text; in some cases, only the chapter titles are included. The papers are written in various hands, with a few corrections or publication notes by Locke.

The text is incomplete; the first title is missing and the manuscript ends towards the end of Title 17 (pp. 2-100 in the 1692 ed.). “Given by M^r Boyle to M^r H: Oldenburg” (f. 3; may apply only to ff. 3-8)

The introductory notes to the edition in The works of Robert Boyle / edited by Michael Hunter and Edward B. Davis. – London : Pickering & Chatto, 2000. – vol. 12, contain a table of the material in this manuscript (pp. xviii-xxi), including the date and scribe for each piece of paper, as well as its position in the published edition.

109 leaves [really 106 for 1/2, 9/10/ 69/70, 90/1 are single leaves, 94 is double]