Editors, referees, and committees: Distributing editorial work at the Royal Society journals in the late 19th and 20th centuries

Abstract

Ever since the Royal Society replaced the editor of the Philosophical Transactions with an editorial committee in 1752, it created an increasingly complex system which distributed editorial work and responsibility among many individuals. A 1902 suggestion that the Society ought to appoint an editor offers an opportunity to explore what the role of “editor” was believed to be: why might such a role now benefit the Society and its journals? What role might an “editor” play amidst the existing editorial structures? Examining the Royal Society's long-standing commitment to distributed editorial practices offers a counterpoint to histories of academic editorship that focus on the rise of the sole editor. It allows us to investigate the acknowledged challenges of working with distributed editorial practices and to consider the shifting perception of the academic journal editor within the wider editorial system.

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