The Manuscripts and Editorial Principles

This edition presents one short letter by Haller and seven long ones by Colom, all in the possession of the Burgerbibliothek Bern. Two other letters by Colom, dating from 1749 and 1764, respectively, are listed in Gottlieb Emanuel von Haller’s inventory of his father’s correspondence but have disappeared.

The texts of the letters are here presented in their entirety, including salutations and closing formulas, as is the one available address. Alterations in the documents have been kept to a minimum. Orthographic idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies have been retained. Punctuation follows the original, except that I have added a missing period after what is obviously the end of a sentence. Capitalization is often difficult to determine. To reduce the seeming arbitrariness a little, I have capitalized the first word of a sentence and all proper names.

Crossings out, additions, and other revisions in the manuscripts are indicated in the textual notes (asterisked), as follows: Words crossed out or erased in the manuscript, but still legible, are set in angle brackets (< >). The abbreviation interl[ined] indicates word(s) inserted above or between the lines. Something marked changed from was either erased and written over or otherwise altered from an earlier word or phrase; if the original cannot be reconstructed, the notation is changed from ?

Editorial interventions in the text appear between square brackets ([ ]). They occur where it seemed helpful to spell out an unclear abbreviation or, once in a great while, to supply a crucial word, letter, or punctuation mark that the writer omitted.

The commentary does not pretend to be exhaustive. Notes or hyperlinks briefly identify persons, provide bibliographical details for publications alluded to in the texts, and seek to clarify vague references.