Peccadilloes of Academic Typograghy: Endnotes vs. Footnotes

In a continuing series on the peccadilloes of academic typography I present the endnote. Being a curious person endnotes in a book or an article really annoy me. I feel compelled to flip to the end of the article and appease my curiosity. Normally I'm let down because its usually just a simple reference or something obvious. Occasionally, however, there's a really interesting endnote, and this is what keeps me flipping back and forth.

The Oxford Press Edition of Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' is a case in point. Full of mostly useless endnotes, but, the occaisional gem lies lurking there at the back of the book forcing me to continual look and, almost always, be disappointed. Why can't everyone just use footnotes. It saves wear and tear on the book and satisfies my curiosity immediately!