Workbook no.1 was deposited in the British Library (Add. Ms. 52619) by Philip Larkin in 1963 whilst he was serving on the National Manuscripts Collection of Contemporary Poets Committee. A microfilm copy of this workbook is held at DPL/1/1.

Loose inserts in workbooks nos. 2 to 8 have been listed at the end of each workbook, with their original place noted. Many pages feature caricatures and doodles around the margins.

Where a poem has been published in Philip Larkin, 'Collected poems' (Faber & Faber, 1988), the page reference is given in square brackets, e.g. [CP298].