46 groups; relevant numbers for this work are 1 = photographs, transcriptions, etc. of ostraca; 3 = papyri; 17 = notebooks. The following is an edited version of the Introduction to A checklist of transcribed hieratic documents in the papers of the late Professor Jaroslav Cerný at the Griffith Institute, published in 1988:
Most of the transcriptions listed here were made by Cerný from original documents, but some were based on photographs. Occasionally his transcription was taken from an earlier publication, but even then Cerný's notes and corrections are of considerable value for anyone seriously interested in the document. It is quite exceptional that the authorship of the transcription is in doubt; those which were made by scholars other than Cerný have not, as a rule, been included.
The majority of the transcribed documents are Ramessid and of administrative character. A small number of transcriptions were made from Middle Kingdom and abnormal hieratic, but it did not seem desirable to exclude these from the list. Where necessary, P. is used for "papyrus" and O. for "ostracon". No distinction has been made between published and unpublished items; Cerný's independent transcriptions are of sufficient importance to justify this.
The references are basically to two types of manuscript material:
(a) A series of notebooks which, as a group, were assigned number 17 in the catalogue of the papers of J. Cerný prepared by Helen Murray in the early 1970s. Each notebook is numbered and paginated. The left-hand side pages of Cerný's notebooks were usually left blank, but when they were used, they carried the same number as the right-hand side pages facing them (therefore, contrary to common practice, this page is not regarded as the verso of the preceding page). A transcription on page 12 of notebook 65 can be referred to as Cerný MSS.17.65.12, or as Cerný Notebook 65.12. The latter, more concise method, has been used in our checklist, but omitting "Cerný Notebook". The reference to such a transcription then is 65.12.
(b) Other groups of material in Cerný's papers. These are quoted in our checklist with the prefix "MSS". Thus, MSS.1.176 stands for item 176 of group 1. If an item consists of several pages, each of which may be numbered, the reference may be e.g. MSS.1.176.3, referring to page 3.
44 groups: relevant numbers are 23 = notebooks; 30 = photographs, transcriptions, etc. of papyri; 31 = ostraca.
As in the case of Cerný's papers, notebooks are quoted only by their number and page, thus 107.3 (shortened form of Gardiner MSS.23.107.3) stands for notebook 107, page 3. Material other than notebooks is prefixed by "MSS.", thus MSS. 30.166 refers to group 30, item 166. Some of these may be further subdivided, e.g. MSS. 30.301.1.
22 groups (I-XXII) plus notebooks and some other material. Photographs and transcriptions of papyri and ostraca are mostly in group IVB. References to the notebooks have no prefix, thus 41.1 stands for notebook 41, page 1; the others are introduced by "MSS."
18 notebooks and some other material. The references are always to notebooks, e.g. 7.45 refers to notebook 7, page 45.
21 groups plus notebooks and other material. References to notebooks have no prefix.
7 groups; 5 = ostraca.
6 groups.
1 notebook.
(October 20, 1995)