From the WAB archives: A selection from the Bergen Wittgenstein archives' Working Papers and audio-visual materials

1. Introduction

This catalogue is intended to facilitate use of the microfilm of that part of Wittgenstein's Nachlass which is held by the Library of Trinity College Cambridge. Before Trinity College Library (TCL) produced this microfilm, the principle resource for scholars wishing to consult Wittgenstein's Nachlass was the Cornell microfilm or the bound volumes of Xerox copies prepared therefrom.

The TCL microfilm was an improvement on that of Cornell in two important respects. Firstly, it is unexpurgated. I.e. it includes all the secret code (Geheimschrift) passages to be found in the MSS it pictures, the vast majority of which were concealed on the Cornell microfilm. Secondly, it includes a number of items which, for one reason or another, were omitted from the Cornell microfilm (namely von Wright items 181, 210, 212, 223, 227, 235, 237, 240-242, 244 and 306, and TCL catalogue items 401, 501 and 502). In other respects the TCL and Cornell microfilms are not comparable, since the former pictures only those of Wittgenstein's papers which are in the keeping of TCL, whereas the latter also pictures several items which are kept elsewhere.

The copy of the TCL microfilm from which this catalogue was compiled was purchased by The Wittgenstein Archives at the University of Bergen (WAB) in 1993. In the form in which it was supplied it consists of fourteen rolls of standard 35mm microfilm, each contained in a box on which the items recorded on that roll are listed. With the exception of rolls 3 and 14, both of which are devoted to a single collection of typescript cuttings ( TS 212), each roll contains images of several different Nachlass items. The full set of fourteen film rolls was supplied with a separate, supposedly complete, list of contents.

The need for the present catalogue arose when it became clear that there were a number of inconsistencies between, 1. what was written

on the boxes and what appeared in TCL's list of contents, and 2. between both of these and what was in fact on the film. A further difficulty was that TCL had not used any consistent system for identifying the separate items on the film itself.

2. Procedure used in compiling the microfilm catalogue

In what follows all Nachlass items other than those in the so-called 400 and 500 series are identified in accordance with the von Wright catalogue of Wittgenstein's papers¹ (whereby the 100 series lists MSS, the 200 series TSS and the 300 series dictations). The 400 and 500 series (referring respectively to correspondence and lecture notes taken by students) do not appear in the von Wright catalogue. These latter belong to an expanded system of classification used in TCL's full catalogue of Wittgenstein holdings (not to be confused with the list of contents which TCL supplied with the microfilm).

In order to establish whether the items on the microfilm were correctly identified in TCL's list of contents, they were compared with the information in the von Wright catalogue concerning that item's subject matter, number of pages, type of binding etc. In the case of items not listed in the von Wright catalogue, they were compared with TCL's full catalogue of Wittgenstein's papers. For all items other than TS 235 it was possible to make a further comparison between the microfilm images and some other copy of the respective Nachlass item; usually the Cornell copy, but in a few cases WAB's own copies.

Longer MSS and TSS were checked, not in their entirety, but in terms of the first 3-4 frames and the last 3-4 frames on which they were captured, plus a random sample of intermediate images. So long as these corresponded satisfactorily with the reference in TCL's list of contents, with the various catalogue details and with the alternative copy, then the item in question was judged to be in order. Where there was reason to suspect that the Nachlass item was not complete, or in a disordered condition, the microfilm was reviewed with greater diligence.

3. General observations

Each microfilm consists of a string of frames (exposures) divided into a number of individual items. Most frames picture, in the case of MSS, an open notebook (two pages per frame), or, in the case of TSS, two loose leaf folios placed side by side. In this context a microfilm item can be defined (roughly) as any consecutive sequence of frames which picture the same Nachlass item. In most cases such items are separated from one another by a stretch of empty (black) film, which serves as a convenient marker when scanning the film at high speed.

Most items are introduced in the first frame after such breaks by some kind of reference or identifier. These usually incorporate the von Wright catalogue number of the respective Nachlass item, but unfortunately they make use of various formats. In some cases the von Wright number is displayed on a separate piece of paper with a library's own prefix ─ either "0.3." or "it" ─ in others it is written on the first folio, the front cover, or the inside front cover of the Nachlass item itself, either with the prefix "0.3." or preceded by the words "Catalogue number". In several cases there is no on-film identifier at all.

In longer items it is fairly common to find duplicate frames (two exposures of the same material) and ─ where the item consists of loose sheets ─ incorrectly sequenced images.

The outside front covers (FCr) of bound MS volumes are often omitted, and where these have been pictured they are frequently largely obscured by a separate piece of paper on which is written either the item's reference number (the on-film identifier) or some other information pertaining to that item, such as dates and/or history of composition. In many cases the record of an MS volume begins with an image of its inside front cover (FCv).

4. Nachlass items pictured on the microfilm (Table 1.)

By and large the list of contents which TCL supplied with the microfilm corresponds correctly with what is to be found on the microfilm rolls. But in a number of cases there are discrepancies

between the listings and the items on the film and a couple of these are substantial. In the case of roll 11 in particular much of the film material is so disordered as to make it well nigh useless for ordinary consultation purposes. (It also makes one wonder what went wrong during the filming process.)

Table 1. is a revised version of the list of microfilm contents which TCL supplied with the film rolls. It differs from TCL's original list in the following points:

• i. MSS 130, 168 and 174 are to be found on roll 6 whereas TCL's original list ascribed them to roll 5;
• ii. TSS 214 and 215 are to be found on roll 4 whereas TCL's original list ascribed them to roll 3; iii.
• MS 161 is divided between rolls 12 and 13 whereas TCL's original list ascribed it to roll 12 alone; iv.
• TS 211 is divided between rolls 1 and 2 whereas TCL's original list ascribed it to roll 1 alone; v.
• Items MS 181, TSS 237, 240-242 and 244, which are mentioned in TCL's original list as "Not filmed", are all to be found on roll 11; vi.
• Three items listed in TCL's catalogue of Wittgenstein holdings as 401, 501 and 502 are not mentioned in TCL's original list of microfilm contents, yet are to be found on roll 11.

Note that Table 1. does not pretend to list all and every item of Wittgenstein's Nachlass (it is not coextensive with von Wright's catalogue), but only those items that are kept at TCL.

5. Unexpected findings

In addition to the points made above, the material reviewed provided for a number of "discoveries" which may or may not prove to be of some significance for Nachlass research.

1. The version of TS 213 pp. 529-768 to be found on microfilm roll 2 is different from that pictured on the Cornell microfilm. Neither the von Wright catalogue nor TCL's catalogue of Wittgenstein holdings mentions the fact that more than one version of these pages exists. In all probability the version pictured on the TCL microfilm is the original, while that pictured in the Cornell copy is a transcription made on the basis of the former. This conclusion is suggested by a number of factors. Firstly, the method by which the titles have been underlined in the "TCL version" (a double underlining created by underlining once with the typewriter's underscore key, then forwarding the paper a notch, then underlining again with the same key) differs from the method adopted in the "Cornell version" (where the double underlining has been produced by means of a repeated equals sign "="). Secondly, the typeface of the machine on which the "TCL version" was produced is the same as that of the preceding 528 pages of this TS ─ which we can assume to be original since they are richly annotated in Wittgenstein's hand ─ whereas the "Cornell version" was clearly typed on a different machine (this is most apparent when one compares the shape of the numerals). Thirdly, it seems that the "Cornell version" has been proofread against the "TCL version". E.g. on p. 607 of the "Cornell version" the word "nicht", apparently overlooked by the typist, has been restored by a hand other than Wittgenstein's.

Since the "Cornell version" contains annotations by von Wright and Kreisel, it is quite possible that it is a transcription made or ordered by them as a basis for editorial work. An outstanding question is where the version pictured on the Cornell microfilm is now kept, since it does not appear on the TCL microfilm and is not mentioned in TCL's catalogue of holdings². Also of interest with regard to TS 213 is that the TCL microfilm pictures two different versions of p. 6, each differently annotated in Wittgenstein's hand. The Cornell copy pictures only one of these versions.

2. Pictured on roll 11 are two versions of TS 241 ("Not filmed" according to TCL's original list of contents!). This item is a TS of 33 folios. Pages 1-21 of the version referred to in Table 2. as roll 11 item 3.9 appear to be top copies, while pages 22-33 of this item and all pages of the other version (roll 11 item 3.4) appear to be carbon copies. Since each version is differently ─ and, at points, quite extensively ─ annotated in Wittgenstein's hand, these deserve to be acknowledged as separate (von Wright) catalogue items (perhaps TS 241a and TS 241b).

3. Pictured on roll 11 is one item which corresponds to none of the entries in either the von Wright catalogue or the TCL's catalogue of holdings. This is a TS of five folios which appears to be a clean copy (an edited transcription) of TS 224. A clue to the provenance of this item is the annotation at the top of the first page which reads "Return E.A.".

6. The microfilm and its contents (Table 2.)