Item formatting

Drawings at the end of each poem separate items.

Heavy rising stroke at the ends of poems.

Some slightly larger, relatively decorative poem titles.

Freely drawn lines (or sometimes double lines) at the ends of items.

Lines under titles. 

Titles and ends of poems marked by a horizontal line.

Titles in larger script.

Freehand horizontal line between poem and note at end of first poem and at end of most poems.

Somewhat decorative lines demarcating poems and titles.

Some more elaborate titles introducing lengthier works.

Large-script titles.

Heavy horizontal lines separating titles and poem texts of one poem from the next.

Ruled horizontal lines at ends of items.

One item follows the next with no separation of space or line, just a new title.

Beginning p. 77, the second hand (Mary Hilhouse) uses a series of horizontal lines to make an upside-down triangle pattern at the end of each item; the previous items copied by Hillhouse ended with a long dash after the final word, or a line of points beneath the final line.

Horizontal ruled lines under item headers and at the ends of items.

One blank leaf between each of the first three items.

Double red rules between stanzas.

Not much delineation between items – some endings marked by a series of horizontal dashes.

Decorative lines between items.

Quite plain.

Double horizontal rules at end of poems.

Pattern of loops under titles and at ends of poems.

Line of horizontal dashes above and below titles; otherwise items are continuous.

Short double ruled lines at ends of items, under titles, and even beside triplets.

Half lines under final few words of each item.

Some especially decorative item titles.

Flourishes at item ends.

Print-style titles for items.

Where there are titles, they are generally separated from the poem by a horizontal line.

Item endings marked by various kinds of devices – a row of small circles, a flourish, a ruled line, a double ruled line etc.

Items separated by a heavy horizontal line.

Copying continuous.

Pages with multiple items may have strokes to mark the end of each. No space between items.

Use of a kind of triangular flourish at the end of the final line of some poems.

Uniform presentation of poems, with single diagonal lines under titles and double diagonal lines between items.

Free-drawn horizontal lines separating titles and poems.

All titles have a standard pattern: "[Title] by [initial(s)]" – e.g. Seraphick Love by N.; The Wish by AC; On Death by TW – the final poem is an exception because it has no attribution.

Short ruled lines under titles; double ruled lines at the ends of items.

Running titles at the tops of pages.

Occasional swirl or line between items, but in general, items are seemingly back-to-back. 

Freehand horizontal lines under titles and at the ends of items.

Titles framed by decorative lines.

Items separated by lines.

Occasional use of numbered stanzas.

Very standardised presentation of titles, suggesting the manuscript was compiled over a shorter period of time. 

Many (at least half) items dated (perhaps all the ones original to Lepipre).

Lines between items.

Variable; both sections have freehand double horizontal line in right-hand margin to mark ends of some items.

First (later) section has some pages ruled in half vertically to facilitate short-lined verses. 

Lines under some titles.

Lines between items when they don’t end at the end of a page.

Lines between items. Dashes between shorter items (like mottos) that have been grouped together and some longer poems with numbered stanzas.

Titles are the same size as the body of the text with no underline, though normally at the top of the page or separated from the previous poem by a line.

Single and double lines between some items that are written on the same page, however, no lines under titles and generally very little to distinguish between one item and the next. 

Uniform presentation of titles (not underlined, just larger than the rest of the text).

Many poems with numbered stanzas.

New items begun on new pages. 

No lines between items or under titles.

Titles are written in a larger font than verses.

Very rough. Little separation between items. 

Nearly all of the copies of poems are dated, from September 23, 1788 to June 1, 1789.

Decorative (calligraphic) titles.

Title in the same font size as text.

Line of dashes separates items.

Simple lines separating items, not used consistently. 

Standard flourish after many entries, though not all.

No lines under titles or between items; new items are noticeable because of spacing around the title. Some blank pages between items.

Double rules between items.

Few lines between items. 

Plain presentation of titles.

Most items have a double ruled line at end, but sometimes, esp. towards end, these are very casually drawn; sometimes just a single line 

The first section has numbered items. 

Double-lines (or multiple lines) between items; new items generally begun on a new page.

In the first section, titles are generally one word, followed by a descriptive subtitle; in the second and third section, titles are the author's name (Nadir, Bree, or Rio) followed by a short thematic title.

Horizontal lines divide items, stylized to be thicker in the middle.

No other decorative features.

A very rough pen stroke divides items sharing a page.

Lines between items, even when items begin on a new page. 

Frequent lines under titles. 

"John Waite Book" appears throughout, usually at the ends of poems.

Decorative "Finis" at the end of each poem, plus other flourishes.

Large font and decorative titles.

Frequently numbered stanzas. 

Items regularly begun on a new page with only a couple exceptions. 

Frequent maxims, potentially original to the compiler, at the ends of poems, e.g. "If we did not flatter ourselves flattery from others would have no effect. John Waite Book" (114r).

A ruled horizontal line divides items, sometimes lines are doubled or tripled. 

Sometimes lines are also used under titles.

Occasional lines between stanzas. A later hand numbers some of the later poems' stanzas with Roman numerals. 

Items are frequently dated "Written —." This appears next to the title, top-right of the first page of the poem.

Heavily ruled lines between short items on the same page, occasionally between title and poem or between stanzas

Each item dated month and year at the bottom right corner, formatted, for example, "4th mo 1807." 

Titles mostly presented without underline or decoration. A handful of titles after p. 59 written in gothic style font surrounded by decorative curls. 

No standard lines after titles or between items; no stanza numbers. Items are back-to-back if not pasted on top of each other.

Several items copied from newspapers with newspapers attributed and dated. 

Lines between items.

Many items followed by a place and date, presumably of where they were first read or copied.

Items are numbered up to p. 104 (#54). 

Titles written in larger font than the poem's text.

Usually a device or line separating items.

Decorative swirls between items. 

Calligraphic titles.

Various swirls and devices between items.

Lines between sections of poems.

Lines between items and after titles. 

No lines between titles and text, just a large space.

Very few lines between items; occasionally, there are a series of horizontal lines in the shape of a triangle, but generally there is just a large space.

Frequent numbered stanzas.

Hand 1: Double lines under titles and in-between poems; frequent use of numbered stanzas.

Hand 2: Decorative swirls between items and under/over titles; frequent use of numbered stanzas.

Calligraphic titles. 

Single horizontal line separating items.

Frequent flourishes at ends of items.

Single red horizontal rule under titles.

Double rule between items.

Stanza numbers, speakers’ names, etc., also in red.

Some titles and poem ends marked by a thick but watery ink line, but not invariably.

New poems begun on new pages (except in cases of paired poem & answer, prologue & epilogue, very short epitaph on young man drowning at Eton & Latin enigma).

Heavy horizontal line between items.

Very plain and neat manuscript.

"Finis” and reverse triangle of horizontal lines at ends of many poems (where there is adequate space at end of poem, perhaps – new poems always begun at the top of the page up to post-1768 items).

When Joshua Peart materials begin p. 315, material is more crowded and there are fewer/ smaller markers, poems inserted immediately after one another.

Double horizontal rules between items.

Manicules to emphasize certain items.

All items are numbered.

Very simple format, just freestyle horizontal line at end of each item.

Often a simple horizontal line between items, but can also have flourish, or upside-down triangle.

A flourish in the right-hand margin marking the end of each item (in prose/ poetry section).

Lines between items; occasional swirl at the end of an item in lieu of a line.

No lines under titles.

Frequent numbered stanzas.

Lines between items.

Frequent use of numbered stanzas.

No lines under titles; titles are simply centred on the page.

Generally a free-drawn horizontal line between items, but not a decoratively presented book.

Same format for each poem, with initials at the end of each indicating author.

Items at beginning quite carefully presented, but no decorative details – just relatively clear space between items, between titles and items. A frestyle horizontal dash to mark ends of items.

Notebook 1: Half-pages left empty, tendency to begin new poems on new pages, but shift in some cases later in the book; punctuation absent at the ends of many lines (unlike in other notebooks); device/ signature after each poem except one. 

Notebook 2:  Poems are back-to-back with a small flourish beneath last line of previous poem; punctuation consistent at the ends of lines; every item is dated; line between items; line between titles and first lines.

Hand one uses consistent poem separator; hand two uses a different but consistent one as well. 

Numbered lines. 

Fairly decorative titles for many items, though others just have *** and a headnote. 

Items not normally titled. 

Difficult to determine the starts and ends of items. Sometimes there is a faint dash at the end of a final line which indicates the end of the poem. 

Double rules generally at the ends of poems.

Headers sometimes give words in a bold/ heavily inked print format; all lettering is printed and main words bolded in the second section.

One or more pen strokes to mark ends of poems.

Titles sometimes written a bit larger than the rest of the text, but not uniformly done.

Horizontal rules between items except for last items in the column on the page. 

[First] compiler uses double black rules for outer margins and ends of items, and uses running heads at the tops of the pages with double rules beneath. 

The primary hand generally writes “Finis” at the end of an item. 

Very ornate hand used for title page, item titles. 

Titles written in a somewhat larger hand.

Freehand wavy line, spiral device or flourish between items, or else new items begin on new pages.

Double rules after items.

Single rules after titles, which are in large hand.

Decorative titles for first two volumes; in volumes 3 and 4, some spaces for titles (and authors) left for completion later; sometimes these are pencilled in.

Titles written somewhat larger than the rest of the text.

Ruled horizontal line at the ends of each poem, which continues on same page.

Line numbers to the poems.

Use of a somewhat larger font for poem titles.

No separation lines or spaces. Poems follow one another closely, sometimes with only one line of previous poem at the top of a page, or a few lines at the bottom.

Large, decorative script for titles.

In some sections, use of red ink for short, double rules between items and under titles, but also for emphasis.

Ruled in red between items. 

Signature and date at ends of pages of sections.

Firm dark horizontal line between entries.

Neat and regular format.

Titles for every item.

Simple horizontal line separating items and sections taken from same items.

Variable marks at the ends of poems – looped lines, double ruled lines, upside-down trianble-shaped pattern of parallel long lines to very short lines.

Signatures to every item in the first part of the book.

Heavy double lines under titles and at ends of items, sometimes between stanzas or individual extracts from the same work, occasionally varied with other sorts of dividers.

Sometimes difficult to determine where one source ends and another begins.

Titles especially ornate, also paragraph/section openings.

Some entries are dated. 

Dividing lines between poems, but of varying forms (single line, double line, single line with spiral).

Two short parallel lines running diagonally from right to left after each poem at start of both volumes, but not all through either one.

Items seperated by coloured lines.

Uniform diagonal stroke from top right to lower left after each poem. 

Similar decorative device between most entries, especially if they end mid-page.

Many pieces are dated.

Not a very decorative book per se; but attempt to indicate where poems continue when using verso pages.

When 2-4 lines of poem remaining at bottom of page, often written sideways in margins.

Series of fine points forming horizontal line after each item.

Riddles, charades, anagrams numbered throughout the book.

Double rules between poems. 

Short, double horizontal lines between items.

Single horizontal line separating items.

“FINIS” written at end of poems (and the end of the Table of Contents).

Wavy horizontal line between items.

Larger hand for titles.

Horizontal lines (sometimes double-ruled) at ends of poems.

Rough dotted lines between entries.

Very free horizontal line at end of every item.

Every new item begun on a new page.

Double lines between items.

Single lines under titles.

Zigzag mark at end of each item.

Red line (same colour as margins) added in on pp. 24-7 for French Version of Prince of Wales’s letter to father.

Occasional flourishes at ends of poems.

Simple horizontal line between items.

Sometimes a horizontal line entirely across page to show end of a poem.

No uniform devices to mark ends of entries. 

All items pp. 1–23 end with some variation of, “Harvard College 175—,” sometimes underlined, often in a box or circle, sometimes decorative, sometimes simple.

Items p. 23–27 end, “Finis.”

Frequent lines between items, eg. p. 15.

Some attempts at decorative lines, eg. p. 25, but always very casual.

Curled lines between items.

Double or single lines under titles. 

Clear presentation of titles.

Lines separating every item.

Many numbered stanzas—no breaks between stanzas, just numbers written at the start of the new stanza's first line. 

Swirled lines between items and under titles throughout the book. 

Double lines between some items.

Single or double lines under some titles. 

Lines between items. 

Longer poems have title pages and/or running title headings.

Lines between items (sometimes single, sometimes double, sometimes broken) and decorative designs at the end of some items. 

Begins by using small lines to indiciate a new stanza (text is too close together to tell items apart otherwise) eg. pp. 37, 39. Then on pp. 71–74 stanzas are numbered with bold roman numerals. Then the rest of the manuscript, the stanzas are numbered with arabic numerals.

pp. 77–167 items are seperated by two clean (seemingly rulered) lines, whereas before that and in the ambigraph section, the items simply follow one another, or have a short, informal line scratched after the last word.

Vols. 1 and 2: Items presented back-to-back; titles written in the same size font as text.

Vol. 1: Regular lines between items.

Vol. 2:  In general, single lines between items, double lines between stanzas or short items, like epigrams, that are part of a larger section. This is inconsistent though, making the individual items within the larger sections very difficult to count.

Some underlining (seemingly for emphasis), but no lines between items, and items written one after another without breaks.

Authors and sources frequently written in little bubbles on the side of the page eg. p. 50.

Titles written in a larger, somewhat decorative font.

Double lines between most items; new items also frequently begun on new pages.

Double lines under most titles.

Occasional annotations.

New items frequently begun on new pages.

Double-lines between items, and each title and first line. Sometimes little drawings or beautiful symbols between items.

Simple, single lines between items. Items begun one after another with no breaks. 

Frequent underlines, seemingly for emphasis. 

Separating lines between poems ruled in red ink.

Item titles are in large, decorative print with variable fonts, as though imitating a printed book.

Very plain book in sense of presentation of titles etc.

Black ruled lines separating items and underneath titles.

Line between items.

Uniform presentation of titles (not underlined).

Small space between items, rare lines under titles or separating items.

ff. 1-70 heavy bars separating titles/ headnotes from poems; freehand rising (oblique) line on the right-hand side of the page at the ends of poems.

From ff 71f, no lines between titles and poems, just a generous space; the end of the first poem marked “Finis” (f. 82), but not a regular practice.

Rarely lines between items, but occasional dark lines between stanzas eg. f. 63.

The first portion of the book uses a spiral device vertically down the page at the ends of items that end in mid-page; later, some items use a similar spiral mark, but it is oriented horizontally at the ends of items.

Horizontal lines seperating items.

Running titles written across the top margin.

Lines between items.

Occasional border around the item titles, eg. f. 10, which mostly stop after f. 16. After that, occasional lines under item titles, but not always.

Very regular presentation: titles underlined freehand, ends of items marked by freehand horizontal line across the page.

Many titles marked by an asterisk indicating a note on the opposite page following the formula "Wrote by..."

First hand regularly places short, simple horizontal lines between items; the second hand rarely marks between items at all.

Clear lines between items.

Lines between items; sometimes single, sometimes up to four; often seemingly with a ruler or something else to keep them straight, eg. p. 41, 68.

“Finis” at the end of longer items, eg. p. 41.

New items often begun on new pages, even if half the previous page remains, eg. pp. 46–47.

Decorative flourishes after items/ in remaining spaces on pages, eg. p. 46, 56, 69, 104, 106 etc.

No lines under titles; the space between titles and first lines are the titles’ only distinction.

Frequently numbered stanzas.

Titles often written in what appears to be lighter coloured red ink.

Frequent faint, double-lines between items (again, likely red ink, though I can’t be sure). Also frequently ends items with “.~/” which makes differentiating between items easier than it might appear on first-glance at the manuscript.

In the Virgil sections, decorative spiral flourishes separate items when there is space left on the page. The more space there is remaining on the page, the bigger the swirl. In the Miscellany section, lines separate items.

Some decorative marks between items (eg pp. 18, 23, 44), though most items have no mark at all between them.

If an item fills more than one page, the title is often written at the top of each page it occupies.

No lines between items or under titles.

Simple lines under titles and between items; second hand does dashes between items. Very simple presentation. 

Freedrawn horizontal lines between poems.

A signature and date after most items (not just the original poetry).

Frequent use of decorative crosses on either side of titles and dates eg. pp. 81–82.

If an item fills more than one page, the title is often written at the top of each page it occupies.

Frequently includes date of copying at the end of the poem eg. p. 72.

Very neat.

No dividing lines between items or under titles, just a bit of space. The items are clearly seperated and easy to tell apart though, given the regular use of titles, and attributions at the end of each item.

Under many titles in the main (first) hand section there is a decorative horizontal border in two colours of ink (brown-black and light brown).

Sometimes larger/special lettering for titles (e.g. p. 59).

Freehand horizontal lines at ends of poems that end in mid-page, but otherwise quite plain layout.

No lines between items; about half of the items are begun on a new page, the others are back-to-back. No lines under titles either.

In the miscellaneous section, titles are written in the margins, eg. p. 208.

Numbered stanzas.

Lines under titles.

Lines between items.

Swirly lines next to certain lines of text for emphasis.

Generous use of white space between poems.

Verso sides occasionally left entirely blank. 

Pagination not by compiler. Foliated by a curator beginning with the 2nd leaf. 

Simple looped or horizontal lines are used to mark the end of poems, and are often used to set off titles. 

Some poems indicate "continued" or "turn over" or "continued over leaf," etc., at bottom of page.

No lines under titles.

Frequent dashes between items.

Occasional use of numbered stanzas.

Frequent numbered stanzas.

Double lines or a squiggly line between items.

No lines under titles. 

Lines between items.

Lines under titles.

Elaborate title lettering; titles entered even at bottom of pages. 

Simple horizontal lines separate poems not separated by titles.

Poems marked 'FINIS' at ends. 

Pagination by the compiler up to p. 255, and is then continued sporadically.

Double-ruled lines between items; occasionally accompanied by a free-hand swirl.

Pagination by folio

Page division, source attribution, or simple line between items.

Titles bear no demarcating features.

Single lines between items.

Simple thick lines between items.

Pagination not continuous. Specific segments are paginated by the complier as part of various sequences, suggesting the book is a later binding of various gatherings of 12-16 leaves each. 

Very little uniformity. Some items have a vertically oriented free-drawn spiral at end, or a #-type device that could be initials.

Items are occasionally separated by an inverted triangle of lines; but at times just a rough horizontal line between items on a page.

Items are not always titled and sometimes difficult to determine due to lengthy anecdotal/critical preambles which proceed them. 

New items generally begin on new pages. 

Occasional lines under titles.

Regularly either a line or small device between items.