Cite a commentator’s handwritten notes by citing the unique copy of the work where they appear. Often, that unique copy will be an object in an archive. For example, Susan Sontag’s annotated copy of Theodor Adorno’s Minima Moralia is housed in a library collection. The collection is the container of the work, as shown:
Adorno, Theodor W. Minima Moralia: Reflections from the Damaged Life. Translated by E. F. N. Jephcott, New Left Books, 1974, Susan Sontag Papers, UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, collection 612, box 212.
Specify in your prose whether you are quoting the published text of the work or the commentator’s markings on it.
Learn more about citing materials in a physical archive on the MLA Style Center.