ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

    The Bernard Papers project commenced in February 2000 as my writing of The ‘Infamas Govener’: Francis Bernard and the Origins of the American Revolution drew to a close. The project’s origins lie partly in my own conviction that historians ought to do more to publish their sources, but more to the vision of John Tyler, publications editor of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts and editor of the Select Correspondence of Thomas Hutchinson. The project would not have been undertaken without his encouragement and would not have been possible without generous funding from the Society.

    I am indebted to many others. First of all, I am delighted to thank John Catanzariti, former editor of the Jefferson Papers, who put aside his own projects in order to read a draft of this volume in its entirety; it is far, far better for his guidance and the detailed advice he kindly proffered, particularly concerning editorial method. Stephen Conway was another selfless reader whose comments enhanced the draft. Stuart Salmon proved an able and willing research assistant, adept at digitizing materials, fact-checking, and ferreting useful information, and who displayed commendable patience during double-proofreading procedures. My thanks also to Oron Joffe for helping me to develop an electronic file of source texts. Key support came from the University of Stirling’s Faculty of Arts and Department of History by way of expensive equipment, sabbatical leave, and a reduced teaching load. Annabelle Hopkins and the late Marjory Clarkson ably assisted with the management of the project’s finances. For advice on sources and editorial method I am grateful to Deborah Andrews, David Bebbington, Anne Decker Cecere, Owen Dudley Edwards, Jennifer Fauxsmith, Susan Halpert, James Lewis, Malcolm Freiberg, James Knowles, Robin Law, Margaret Newell, George Peden, Robert Spencer Bernard, Celeste Walker, Matthew Ward, and Conrad E. Wright. My colleagues Emma Macleod, Ben Marsh, Richard Oram, and Michael Rapport willingly gave their time to answer a host of questions. Photography was undertaken by Charles Crisp and Peter Hoare, graphic work by Laura Brown and Leanne Hogg, and the spendid book design by Jeanne Abboud.

    I am conscious of my reliance upon the numerous librarians and archivists of the following North American repositories who responded gracefully and efficiently to enquiries made in person and by correspondence: the American Antiquarian Society; the Boston Athenaeum; the Bostonian Society; Bowdoin College Museum of Art; Detroit Institute of Arts; the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts; the Fogg Art Museum; Harvard Archives; the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; the Hollis Library, Harvard University; the Houghton Library, Harvard University; the Library Company of Philadelphia; Maine Historical Society; Maine State Library; Maryland State Archives; Massachusetts Archives; Massachusetts Historical Society; the Morgan Library; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Archives of Canada; the National Gallery of Art; New Brunswick Museum; the New England Historic Genealogical Society; the Centre for Newfoundland Studies; New Jersey Historical Society; New Jersey State Archives; New-York Historical Society; New York Public Library; Peabody Essex Museum; Princeton University Library; Propietary House, Perth Amboy; Rosenbach Museum and Library; Rutgers University Library; the Smith College Museum of Art; the Smithsonian Institution; the Swett Library; the Library of Congress; University of Minnesota Libraries; University of Chicago Library; University of Virginia Library; the William L. Clements Library; Yale Center for British Art; Yale University Libraries.

    My thanks also to the staff of several British repositories: Berkshire Record Office; the Bodleian Library; the British Library; Cardiff Central Library; the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies; Christ Church College, Oxford University; Dalkeith House; Derby Record Office; East Sussex Record Office; the House of Lords Library; Lambeth Palace Library; Leeds Public Libraries; the Lewis Walpole Library; Lichfield Record Office; Lincolnshire Archives; the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the National Archives: Public Record Office; the National Archives of Scotland; the National Gallery of Scotland; the National Library of Scotland; the National Maritime Museum; Oxfordshire Record Office; the Royal Artillery Institution; the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce; Sheffield Archives; Staffordshire Record Office; Suffolk County Council Archives; West Yorkshire Archive Service. Information Services staff at the University of Stirling assisted the project throughout, especially Marilyn Scott and Andrew Monteith of the computing advisory team and Linda Cameron of the document delivery service.

    Permission to publish edited transcripts from various manuscript collections is herewith acknowledged: the Massachusetts Archives Collection, courtesy of Massachusetts Archives; the private collections of Robert Spencer Bernard; the Cadwallader Colden Papers at the New-York Historical Society; the Dartmouth Papers courtesy of Staffordshire Record Office; Material Relating to America, 1754-1806, in the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce; William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan, for the Gage Papers; the Records of the Board of Overseers II, courtesy of Harvard Archives; the Bernard Papers, Sparks MS 4 are reproduced by permission of Houghton Library, Harvard University. Transcript No. 28 is reproduced courtesy of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

    My last debts are the greatest: to my dear wife Catherine and my wonderful daughters, Catriona and Kristen, for their forbearance when the lives of historical others intrude upon the present.