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The transcripts presented reproduce the page-breaks of the manuscripts. Each notebook is given the following descriptions of pages prior to the numbering system used by Ruskin: Front Board, Front pastedown, Front free endpaper recto, Front free endpaper verso. At the end of the notebooks the following descriptions are generally applied to unpaginated pages: Back free endpaper recto, Back free endpaper verso, Back pastedown, Back board.
The smaller ‘field’ notebooks were (in places) especially difficult to transcribe. This is because of Ruskin’s use of a soft pencil, often written in awkward or difficult writing postures, bad weather conditions and difficult locations and at times while travelling. Later amendments such as crossing out, adding further material, using a paintbrush to cross out or add ‘Done’ and ‘Cop’, drawing over writing and writing over drawings along with his practice of over-writing large sections of notes on many pages afterwards using sepia ink make transcription difficult. All this combined with the effects of wear and tear and time make many pages of the small notebooks particularly challenging in terms of transcription and analysis.
Punctuation has not been altered, the reader being able to compare the transcript with the digitised manuscript in most cases and make a considered judgement with regard to interpretation. Ruskin’s points, pen rests, and dashes within sentences have been retained. No words therefore have been inserted into the text to make any sentence ‘intelligible’. Square brackets [?] around a question mark indicate that the word has not been able to be transcribed by the editors. In some cases an attempt has been made to transcribe a doubtful word as follows: [cusp?]. Ruskin’s spelling including errors remain unchanged along with any inconsistencies. Hypertext notes may comment upon possible ambiguous readings resulting from this editorial stance.
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[Version 0.05: May 2008]