Bound in red buckram, with  Ruskin Ms. Early Prose Writings  in gilt on spine, 21.5 × 34.5 cm. Of the contents, the first, no. 216, consists of 9 leaves of bluish paper, watermarked  Ruse & Turner / 1836,  21 × 34 cm, written in ink on both sides of each leaf, except for blank 9v. The second, no. 270, consists of 6 leaves of paper identical to the first, written in ink on both sides of each leaf.
	Owing to the later binding and to the consistency of the paper used for the two manuscripts, one cannot be positive that the  Chronicles  (no. 216) and the  Essay  (no. 270) are written on distinct gatherings--i.e., that they were fair-copied separately. The likelihood of distinct gatherings, however, is suggested by the soiling of the blank back page of no. 216 (9v), as compared with the good condition of the first page of no. 270, which follows immediately in the present binding. Also, the hands differ, that for no. 216 being very small and close, despite the folio-sized pages--much like the later portion of the large mineralogical dictionary, MS IVD (i.e., the dense flush-and-hang entries)--whereas the hand for no. 270 is much larger and more widely spaced, Ruskin fitting about half the number of lines per page as compared with no. 216 (although the lines become more crowded in the  Essay,  as Ruskin runs short of paper at the end of the booklet). Finally, two separate gatherings is suggested by their slight misalignment from one another where they meet at the spine of the binding.
	Although probably distinct gatherings, the two manuscripts must have been bound together owing to their matching physical characteristics. At Brantwood, the paper booklets may even have been found folded together, since horizontal creases in the paper match throughout the two manuscripts. In addition to the identical paper, the manuscripts share some similarities of presentation, such as justified right and left margins, and a double-ruled line, which is used in no. 216 to divide the introduction from chapter one, and which in no. 270 closes the essay.
	Owing to the present binding, I am unable to account for the odd number of leaves in no. 216. Generally, Ruskin constructed his handmade pamphlets by sewing folded sheets. In some of these other manuscripts, a leaf was cut away from the outside of the gathering, leaving an odd number of leaves, and one suspects that to be the case here. Nothing appears to be missing from no. 216, which begins with a title at the top of 1r and ends with a blank page, 9v.
	When bound, the two manuscripts were enclosed together within sheets of foolscap, with contents ennumerated in Wedderburn’s hand:  Ruskin MS. / Early Prose Writings  (2r); and  Ruskin MS / Early Prose Writings. / Chronicles of St. Bernard. / Velasquez, a Novice. / Essay on Music & Painting  (3r).