Page:The records of the Virginia company of London - Volume 1.djvu/17

Rh historical material in the possession of Congress. While occupied with this matter Dr. Jameson explained the history and value of the records to the Rhode Island Historical Society, and his address was reviewed in the "Magazine of American History" (vol. 21, January–June, 1889, p. 82).

But meantime some progress had been made with the actual printing of the Court Book. Mr. Conway Robinson had made copious extracts from it, especially of the documentary material which is contained in the second volume. His extracts the Virginia Historical Society published in 1889, under the editorship of Mr. R. A. Brock. Until the present time this edition, in two volumes, has served the purpose of most students. But the requirements of historical study in this country have now reached a point where more complete and critical editions of the sources are needed than have been common in the past. If this need was to be met, it became at once apparent that no body of records was better adapted for a beginning than those which related to the Virginia Company of London. In date and subject: matter they stand at the very threshold of American history. In character they form a distinct and unique group of material. By the issue of a definitive edition of these records the demand which scholars have so long made for their publication would be met and satisfied. It was under the influence of considerations like these that the present work was undertaken.

In the preparation of this body of records for the press critical accuracy and helpfulness have been sought in all possible ways. The spelling of the original has been carefully preserved throughout, for in editing a source of this character and importance any attempt to modernize the text would be properly regarded as unjustifiable. Not only has the spelling been preserved, but also the signs and abbreviations which abound, the use of which the men of the period had inherited from still earlier times. So far as such a thing is possible in print, the text is exactly reproduced in these volumes, while an added element of reality is supplied by the photographs of specimen pages of the original manuscript.

Brief notes have been added where it was necessary to explain or call attention to obscurities, omissions, or other irregularities in the text, the purpose being to enable the reader to gain information of this kind from the printed page with the same certainty as if he were using the manuscript. In the notes. cross references have also been given to the documents of the company and to its publications, when they have been found to reproduce, or to illustrate and make more definite, the statements which are contained in the Court Book. In citations of this kind the number of each document is given as it appears in the List of Records in the Introduction. In this way the unity of the records of the company as a whole receives illustration, and the investigator will be aided in any effort which he may make to learn all which they have to reveal in reference to any subject. Finally, the index completes the invaluable service which Miss Kingsbury has rendered in the editorship of the work.