''Notes and Queries'', also styled ''Notes & Queries'', is a long-running

quarterly A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...

scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to " English language and literature,

lexicography Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

, and scholarly antiquarianism".From the inner sleeve of all modern issues of ''Notes and Queries''. Its emphasis is on "the factual rather than the speculative". The journal has a long history, having been established in 1849 in London;''Notes and Queries'', Series 1, Volume 1, Nov 1849 - May 1850
via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

it is now published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. The journal was originally subtitled "a medium of inter-communication for literary men, artists,

antiquaries An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifacts, archaeological and historic sit ...

genealogist Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

s, etc". It is now subtitled "For readers and writers, collectors and librarians". Its motto was once "When found, make a note of", the catchphrase of Capt. Cuttle, a character in

Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

's novel ''

Dombey and Son ''Dombey and Son'' is a novel by English author Charles Dickens. It follows the fortunes of a shipping firm owner, who is frustrated at the lack of a son to follow him in his footsteps; he initially rejects his daughter's love before eventual ...

''. It is the 250th-most-quoted source in the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' (3rd ed.), giving 1,633 quotations, many being first evidence of a word or a particular meaning.

Format

''Notes and Queries'' was first published in 1849 as a weekly

periodical A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also examples ...

edited by W. J. Thoms. It was founded as an academic correspondence

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, in which scholars and interested amateurs could exchange knowledge on

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

and

. The format consisted of "Notes" (miscellaneous findings of correspondents that they and the editors considered of interest to the readership), and "Queries" (and responses to queries), which formed the bulk of the publication. The magazine has been likened to a 19th-century version of a moderated Internet

newsgroup A Usenet newsgroup is a repository usually within the Usenet system, for messages posted from users in different locations using the Internet. They are discussion groups and are not devoted to publishing news. Newsgroups are technically distinct ...

. Many of the entries in the journal for its first seventy years were only a few paragraphs long, and occasionally as short as a sentence or two. Very frequent contributors include the Rev. Walter W. Skeat, one of the most important figures in the field of English

etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the Phonological chan ...

, and

Eliza Gutch Eliza Gutch (née Hutchinson) (1840-1931) was an English author, contributor to ''Notes and Queries'',Jacqueline Simpson (Editor), Steve Roud (Editor) (2003). ''A Dictionary of English Folklore''. Oxford University Press and founding member of the ...

, a founding member of

The Folklore Society The Folklore Society (FLS) is a national association in the United Kingdom for the study of folklore. It was founded in London in 1878 to study traditional vernacular culture, including traditional music, song, dance and drama, narrative, arts an ...

. The foundation of such a society was suggested by Gutch through a query to the publication. Gutch contributed to the publication for over seventy years, using the pseudonym "St Swithin".Jacqueline Simpson (Editor), Steve Roud (Editor) (2003). ''A Dictionary of English Folklore''.

Today the magazine is produced as an

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

. The articles are typically much longer than they were during the journal's early years, though they are still shorter than those of the typical academic journal. In addition, the "Notes" now far outweigh the "Queries", and book reviews have also been introduced. The focus is now almost entirely on literature.

Namesakes

Over 20

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

or regional publications across England, mostly launched in the late 19th century, adopted a similar "notes and queries" format; 16 of which, beginning with ''Gloucestershire Notes and Queries'' in 1879, included the term within their titles. ''Notes and Queries for Somerset and Dorset'' (launched in 1888) and ''Devon and Cornwall Notes and Queries'' (launched 1900) both survive in regular publication. There have been several incarnations of '' American Notes and Queries''. There are also '' Canadian Notes & Queries'' and ''Kōtare: New Zealand Notes and Queries''. ''Notes and Queries'' has also given its name to a number of columns and sections within wider-ranging publications. These include a regular "

Notes & Queries Notes & Queries is a weekly column in ''The Guardian'' newspaper which publishes readers' questions together with (often humorous) answers submitted by other readers. The column first appeared on 13 November 1989, and was the idea of leader wr ...

" feature in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' newspaper, started in November 1989.

Anthologies

The following anthologies of selections from ''Notes and Queries'' have appeared.

References

External links

* {{Official, https://academic.oup.com/nq
Online Index of ''Notes and Queries'' (November 1849 – June 1922)
copies online at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...

and

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

Complete set, unordered

from Victoria Research Web
Somerset and Dorset Notes and Queries
(SDNQ) 1849 establishments in England Folklore journals Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Oxford University Press academic journals Publications established in 1849