I. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 1, 1650-1889 (bulk 1650-1765)

The first volume of the College Papers contains original documents dating from 1651 to 1763. It also contains documents dating from 1787, 1817, and 1889, a 1886 photograph of the Charter of 1650, 19th century manscript and 20th century photostat copies of original documents. The documents span the tenures of presidents Increase Mather, John Leverett, Benjamin Wadsworth, and Edward Holyoke.

II. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 2, 1764-1785, 1793

The second volume of the College Papers contains original documents dating from 1764 to 1785, spanning the tenures of presidents Edward Holyoke, Samuel Locke, Samuel Langdon, acting president Edward Wigglesworth, and Joseph Willard, as well as treasurers Thomas Hubbard, John Hancock, and Ebenezer Storer. It also contains a document from 1793.

III. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 3, 1785-1796

The third volume of the College Papers contains original documents dating from 1785 to 1796, spanning the tenures of president Joseph Willard and treasurer Ebenezer Storer. The series chiefly consists of incoming correspondence for Storer.

IV. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 4, 1797-1805

The fourth volume of the College Papers contains original documents dating from 1797 to 1805, spanning the tenures of president Joseph Willard, acting president Eliphalet Pearson, and treasurer Ebenezer Storer. It chiefly consists of incoming correspondence for Storer.

V. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 5, 1805-1809

The fifth volume of College Papers contains original documents dating from 1805 to 1809, spanning the tenures of president Samuel Webber and treasurers Ebenezer Storer and Jonathan Jackson.

VI. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 6, 1809-1811

The sixth volume of College Papers contains original documents dating from 1809 to 1811, spanning the tenures of presidents Samuel Webber and John Thornton Kirkland, and treasurers Jonathan Jackson and John Davis. Much of the volume consists of general administrative correspondence exchanged between Kirkland and Davis.

VII. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 7, 1811-1815, 1819

The seventh volume of the College Papers contains original documents dating from 1811 to 1815, spanning the tenures of president John Thornton Kirkland and treasurer John Davis. Much of the volume consists of general administrative correspondence exchanged between Kirkland and Davis. It also contains one document from 1819.

VIII. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 8, 1815-1820 (bulk 1815-1819)

The eighth volume of College Papers contains original documents dating from 1815 to 1819, spanning the tenures of president John Thornton Kirkland and treasurer John Davis. Much of the volume consists of general administrative correspondence exchanged between Kirkland and Davis. It also contains a document from 1820.

IX. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 9, 1819-1821

The ninth volume of College Papers contains original documents dating from 1819 to 1821, spanning the tenures of president John Thornton Kirkland and treasurer John Davis, as well as correspondence between Davis and Steward Stephen Higginson. Much of the volume consists of general administrative correspondence exchanged between Kirkland and Davis. It also contains an early 20th century typewritten document.

X. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 10, 1821-1824, 1831

The tenth volume of College Papers contains original documents dating from 1821 to 1824, spanning the tenures of president John Thornton Kirkland and treasurer John Davis. Much of the volume consists of general administrative correspondence exchanged between Kirkland and Davis, as well as correspondence between Davis and Steward Stephen Higginson. It also contains a printed document from 1831, during the tenure of president Josiah Quincy.

XI. Harvard College Papers, 1st series, Volume 11, 1824-1825

The eleventh volume of College Papers contains original documents from 1824 to 1825, spanning the tenures of president John Thornton Kirkland and treasurer John Davis. Much of the volume consists of general administrative correspondence exchanged between Kirkland and Davis, as well as correspondence between Davis and Steward Stephen Higginson.

Records of the Geographical Society, ca. 1796

This small blue-covered paper notebook contains four leaves with the handwritten records of the Geographical Society, an undergraduate organization at Harvard in the late 1790s. The records consist of ten handwritten "Laws of the Geographical Society" and a short list of fines dispensed on October 7th. A list of six student surnames is written on a scrap of paper and attached with pins to the notebook's inside front cover. The surnames likely correspond to six members of the Harvard Class of 1798: John Abbot (1777-1854), Isaac Adams (d. 1807), Francis Brigham (d. November 14, 1796), Humphrey Devereux (1779-1867), Joseph Emerson (1777-1833), and Artemas Sawyer (d. 1826). The notebook is undated but was presumably kept in 1795 or 1796 around the time of Brigham's death on November 14, 1796. While Brigham's surname appears in the list of fines, it is crossed out on the inside front cover.

Commonplace book of Hector Orr, 1789-1804

Hector Orr began recording entries in this commonplace book during his first year as a student at Harvard and continued writing in the volume sporadically until 1804. The entries written while he was a student, from 1789 to 1792, include themes written on the following topics: Time, Discontent, Patriotism, Virtue, Conscience, Patience, Avarice, Compassion, Mortality, Self-knowledge, Benevolence, Morning, Anger, Profanity, Bribery, Autumn and Winter, Hermitage, Conscience and Anticipation. He also wrote detailed entries about the forensic disputations in which he and his classmates participated, explaining both the affirmative and negative positions. One of these disputations involved discussion of the Stamp Act, which was then quite recent history. Orr's entries about the disputations list the names of students involved and specify their position in the argument.

Guarantee of financial support for student James Savage, signed by William Tudor and John Cooper, 1799 July 25

This legal agreement, a guarantee of financial support for entering student James Savage (A.B. 1803), was signed on July 25, 1799 by his two guarantors, William Tudor and John Cooper. The document was also signed by two witnesses, William Tudor's sons John Henry Tudor and Frederic Tudor. The agreement specifies that, in the event of Savage's failure to settle all financial obligations to the President and Fellows of Harvard College during the course of his studies, the two guarantors would be responsible for a payment of two hundred ounces of silver. It seems that the Tudors and Cooper were relatives of Savage, thus explaining their desire to assure his entry to Harvard by entering into this financial obligation.

Diary of Elias Mann, 1796-1800

Elias Mann kept this diary during his undergraduate years at Harvard College. The diary begins August 17, 1796 and ends in August of 1800 and also includes several undated sheets filled with excerpts of poems. The daily entries describe many aspects of Mann's life, including not only his experiences at Harvard but also his involvement in the larger community. Entries related to life at Harvard describe club meetings (coffee club, Hasty Pudding Club and Phi Beta Kappa); trips to the theater; dinners at taverns; games and recreation, including a card game called "Loo," cribbage, backgammon, bowling, playing ball, fishing, skating and going for sleigh rides; gathering, and sometimes taking from others' gardens, food (most often plums, peaches, nuts and apples); what he ate (including one breakfast of three raw eggs and two glasses of wine); what he read (including Tristram Shandy and one of "Mrs. Ratcliffe's novels"); his friends, often mentioned by name; and academic work and formalities. In one entry he mentions the theft of several possessions from his room, and there are several entries about trips to Fresh Pond.