Frontispiece of the first volume of the Philosophical Transactions, ©The Royal Society
The Philosophical Transactions has been published by the Royal Society in London since 1665, and will be celebrating its 350th anniversary in 2015. The funding will support two postdoctoral researchers, who will use the unrivalled resources of the Royal Society’s archives to investigate issues – such as the origins of peer review, and the relationship between profitability and the publication of scholarly knowledge – that are at the heart of the knowledge-based economy.
Dr Fyfe says: ‘Philosophical Transactions is the most famous scientific journal in the history of science, yet the details of the commercial, economic and editorial practices which lie behind the ground-breaking research published in its pages have barely been studied. Our project will build upon existing scholarship on the early years of the journal, but will pursue the story into the era of industrial printing, the professionalization of science, and ultimately, electronic publishing. We are particularly interested in the gradual development, adaptation and decline of editorial practices, commercial strategies and technological processes.’
Electrical apparatus 1778 ©The Royal Society
One postdoctoral researcher has been appointed to the project so far, Dr Noah Moxham, whose doctoral research was on the administrative and organisational structures of the early Royal Society. The second four-year postdoctoral research position will be advertised in January and is for a scholar with expertise in late nineteenth and twentieth century history of science and/or history of publishing. The postdoctoral researchers will be based at the Royal Society.
See also http://univstandrews-research.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/story-of-worlds-oldest-surviving.html
Plate accompanying a 1665 paper.©The Royal Society
Plate accompanying a 1724 paper. ©The Royal Society
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