Monday, November 27, 2006

The Hooke Folio

In May 2006 a long lost manuscript of the papers of Robert Hooke was returned to the archive of the Royal Society. Lisa Jardine played a significant role in the recovery of the folio, which she described as 'an absolute treasure trove of new information about the day to day activities of the early scientific establishment'. The Centre for Editing Lives and Letters (CELL) will be working with the Royal Society on the digitization and analysis of the folio. Two PhD students, funded by the Royal Society and Queen Mary, are currently working on a full transcript and Robyn Adams has been seconded part time to act as a conduit between the archive and the academic community. Lisa Jardine and Robyn Adams will present a seminar on Robert Hooke: the archival tragedy of dying intestate at the Royal Society on Friday 8th December.

More information, including a downloadable PDF file of "The Return of the Hooke Folio" by Lisa Jardine and Robyn Adams, Notes and Records of the Royal Society (2006), 60, 235-39, is available here.