Search and Retrieval in Seventeenth-Century Manuscripts: The Case of Joseph Hall's Miscellany

One of the challenges faced by compilers of early modern miscellanies was how to find material after it had been copied. In this essay, Angus Vine explores schemes for search and retrieval, from incipient indices to tipped-in texts, using as a case study the meticulously planned miscellany later owned by Joseph Hall. The original compiler of this manuscript collected a wide range of material, including theological texts, scientific and medical items, political reports and other news, and large amounts of verse. He devised a system of seven categories, dividing his manuscript into sections. The essay examines the compiler's classificatory system, what actually happened when he and another scribe started to copy material, and what this says about how early modern miscellanies were used.