Marginal Notes: Social Reading and the Literal Margins (New Directions in Book History)

Marginal Notes: Social Reading and the Literal Margins offers an account of literary marginalia based on original research from a range of unique archival sources, from mid-16 th- century France to early 20 th -century Tasmania. Chapters examine marginal commentary from 17 th -century China, 18 th -century Britain, and 19 th -century America, investigating the reputations, as reflected by attentive readers, of He Zhou, Pierre Bayle, Samuel Johnson, Thomas Warton, and Sir Walter Scott. The marginal writers include Jacques Gohory, Mary Astell, Hester Thrale, Herman Melville, the young daughters of the Broome family in Gloucestershire, and the patrons of the library of the Huon Mechanics’ Institute, Tasmania. Though marginalia is often proscribed and frequently hidden or overlooked, the collection reveals the enduring power of marginalia, concluding with studies of the ethics of annotation and the resurrected life of marginalia in digital environments. Contents Notes on Contributors List of Figures Chapter 1: Introduction: Writing Between the Lines Annotation as a Field of Interest and Study How Marginalia Informs Reading The Invitation to Annotate: or, What Marginalia Can Do for You This Collection Chapter 2: Jacques Gohory’s Copy of the Poliphile (1546): A First Analysis of His Handwritten Marginalia The Aldine Edition (Venice, 1499) The First French Edition (Paris: Kerver, 1546) Gohory’s Copy (Baillieu Library Collection, Melbourne) Works Cited Chapter 3: The Marginalia of a Seventeenth-Century Chinese Scholar The Location and Content of Pre-modern Chinese Marginalia Three Ways of Circulating Marginalia The Transcription of He Zhuo’s Marginalia Transcription by He Zhuo’s Disciples Marginalia as a Way to Communicate Transcription by Other Scholars Conclusion Works Cited Chapter 4: Undoing Bayle’s Scepticism: Astell’s Marginalia as Disarmament Historical-Intellectual Background Astell’s Critique of Bayle Astell’s Strategic Purpose Works Cited Chapter 5: Hester Piozzi’s Annotations to the Adventurer and Johnson’s Rambler: Beyond the Case Study Studies of HLP’s Annotations HLP’s Published Johnsonian Annotations HLP’s Unpublished Annotations Appendix: Hester Piozzi, Unpublished Annotations Annotations to Samuel Johnson, The Rambler Annotations to The Adventurer, by John Hawkesworth Works Cited Chapter 6: “C’est Mon Livre ce n’est pas le tien mon ami”: Inscriptions in an English Children’s Book Collection Identifying the Collection The Books in the Broome Family Collection French Books/Books Referring to French in the Collection Conclusion Appendix: Broome Family Books a. Books Owned by the Broome Family b. Inscriptions in Books Owned by the Broome Family Works Cited Chapter 7: “Probability Indispensable in Fiction”: Marginalia in Sir Walter Scott’s The Antiquary The Character and Attitudes of the Annotator The Relationship of Marginalia to the Text The Annotator’s Practices in Annotating Fiction The Anonymous Annotator Works Cited Chapter 8: The Encyclopædia Britannica and the Huon Mechanics’ Institute Library A Brief History of the Huon Mechanics’ Institute and Its Library Appendix: A List of Subscriptions to the Huon Mechanics’ Institute, 27 May 1859 Works Cited Chapter 9: “Almost Unknown to the General Reader”: Biographical and Conceptual Contexts of Melville’s Marginalia in Thomas Warton’s The History of English Poetry Works Cited Chapter 10: The Ethics of Annotation: Reading, Studying, and Defacing Books in Australia Works Cited Chapter 11: Locating Digitised Marginalia Works Cited Chapter 12: Afterword Index