The following describe various editorial choices we have made in transcribing the letters. The editors have favored readability and contemporary usage in places where that has conflicted with the original. But this choice need not compromise scholarly work, since photographs of the original documents are included and accessible to readers in the archive.
Errata
Obvious misspellings and other errors have been corrected.
Various Stylistic and Grammatical Conventions
In several instances, we have sought to update stylistic and grammatical conventions to reflect contemporary usage. These include the placing of periods in relation to quotation marks, the use of commas, and capitalization. We have also set many underlined phrases in italics, the latter being favored in contemporary usage. Italics were not an option on conventional typewriters.
Indents
Left indent everything except for the date.
Page Breaks
We have indicated where the page breaks fall by inserting the marker [Page x] into the transcribed text.
Plug in for Footnotes
1Other Issues
- Words in foreign languages
- Illegible words
- Scripture references
- Handwritten annotations/marginalia
- Letter metadata, such as indications of carbon copying to others, typist initials, etc.