Arrangement of the Papers
The items are chronologically arranged in the main, with years ranging from 1812-1832. The lower the item number, the earlier the letter was written. The exceptions to this rule are Items 8, 9, and 33. It is unclear why this is so, but perhaps this reflects the order of the letters when they were bound together. In addition to these anomalies, there are a couple of unconventional numberings: Items 7b and 42 ½. The reasons behind these labels are not obvious, but perhaps they reflect the unusual nature of these letters. Item 7b is a copy of Item 3 in the collection. This is peculiar in that it is the only duplicate in the collection. As for 42 ½, the “½” might refer to the mention of an accompanying epistle in the letter. However, this epistle is not found in the collection. The present arrangement and numbering of the letters reflect the way the items have been labeled at the Library since at least the 1990s. To assure continuity over time in how researchers refer to items, arrangement and numbering have been preserved.