The section "Contributions to Books and Periodicals" lists first appearances
of such items only. Virtually the only exceptions to this rule are contributions that
appeared nearly simultaneously in one or more papers, such as those in the Daily
Alta California and Weekly Alta California in 1872, and especially those in the
New York Journal (later American) and the San Francisco Examiner from 1900 to
1906; for these items we supply information on both appearances. The section is
arranged chronologically; works included in books appear at the end of the year's
sequence, unless the book's exact date of publication is known. Annotations
elucidate such matters as title changes in later reprints, inclusion of a part or all of
the work in a book or article, and, in selected instances, a brief synopsis of the
work. We have not attempted to supply synopses for stories, sketches, poems, or
most recurring columns, since these last are generally very heterogeneous in the
topics discussed. In many cases the synopsis very inadequately describes the tenor
of the discussion, since (especially in the cases of unsigned editorials) the
treatment is frequently satirical, parodic, or whimsical.

Some anomalies in the periodicals in which Bierce regularly appeared
should be noted. In the San Francisco News Letter, Volume 18 ( 1868-69) was
followed by Volume 9 ( 1869-70). During the first year of Bierce's tenure on the
Wasp, there was occasional inconsistency in the dating of the issue: the cover date
did not match the date printed on the masthead on the editorial page. We have
invariably chosen the cover date as the proper date of the issue. We have not
supplied volume or issue numbers for newspapers.

The section "Reprints" lists all reprints of Bierce's work in periodicals or in
books by others with the exceptions just cited. The section is arranged
alphabetically by title, and the reprints are listed chronologically.

No attempt has been made to chart translations of Bierce's work.

A manuscript checklist has been supplied for the benefit of scholars. It lists
the relatively few Bierce manuscripts housed in public institutions, along with
1800 or so letters and certain other works. Ancillary or associational items owned
by these institutions, e.g. letters to Bierce, are not listed. The arrangement of
institutions is alphabetical by state, then by city.

Items marked with an asterisk throughout the bibliography are those whose
existence is known or surmised but which have not been definitively located. The
section "Unlocated Items" provides additional information on some of these
works.

The indices are self-explanatory. All numbers in the indices refer to item
numbers, not page numbers of the bibliography. The indices must be used to
identify all appearances of a given work by Bierce, as this information is not
included in any single entry. We have decided to indicate reprints of Bierce's
recurring columns only in books that Bierce himself assembled. Most other
reprints of columns can be found in the following volumes: Selections from
"Prattle" (A38), The Ambrose Bierce Satanic Reader (A45), Skepticism and
Dissent (A52), The Devil's Advocate (A54), and A Sole Survivor (A61).

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