Bond of Samuel Leighton and Samuel Shapleigh to the Harvard Corporation, Aug. 23, 1785

Shapleigh and Leighton's signatures have been cut out from the bottom of this document. It was "signed, sealed and delivered" in the presence of Benjamin Stevens and Ebenezer Marriner.

Bond of Samuel Shapleigh and Thomas Adams to the Harvard Corporation, Aug. 15, 1789

Shapleigh and Adams' signatures have been cut out from the bottom of this document. It was "signed, sealed and delivered" in the presence of Thomas Gray and Darius Shaw.

Bond of Samuel Shapleigh and unknown co-signatory to the Harvard Corporation, Aug. 15, 1789

Shapleigh and the unknown co-signatory's signatures have been cut out from the bottom of this document. It was "signed, sealed and delivered" in the presence of Owen Warland and William Wahan.

College Book 8, 1778-1803

This volume contains a fair copy of minutes from Corporation meetings held from May 5, 1778 through October 14, 1803. It begins with an alphabetical index and contains entries related to a wide range of topics, including changes in the College laws; lists of Harvard graduates; historical information about the College and its governance; memorials to the Massachusetts General Court about currency concerns, the West Boston Bridge, and other matters; the establishment of medical professorships and selection of professors to fill them; land and property belonging to Harvard; the settlement of accounts with former College Treasurer John Hancock; support of missionaries to several Indian tribes; the establishment of a student dress code; the Charlestown Ferry, and its revenue troubles following the construction of the West Boston Bridge; the purchase of a wooden sloop for transporting students' "fuel" (presumably firewood); the creation and distribution of library catalogs; the commission of a lucernal microscope for the College Apparatus; Oneida Indian Isaac Solegwaston and Harvard's financial support of his studies at the Hamilton Oneida Academy; transcriptions of a letter (October 23, 1789) from the Corporation to President George Washington and of Washington's response; a petition to the General Court for the establishment of a public infirmary to serve the indigent; individuals who were granted permission to instruct Harvard students in the French language outside the established curriculum; and Thomas Welsh's excused absence from his Harvard graduation, granted June 14, 1798, because of his imminent departure for Berlin to serve as Secretary to John Quincy Adams, then Minister Plenipotentiary to Berlin.

Lectures on Hebrew and Oriental Literature, delivered in Harvard College between the years 1765 and 1782, by Stephen Sewall, AM, AAS Hancock Professor, Volume 1 1765-1767

The volume contains handwritten copies of lectures delivered by Sewall to students, an 1780 letter from Antoine Court de Gébelin written in French and glued into the front inside cover, a preface to the set of lectures, an autobiographical sketch of Sewall, and the statutes governing the Hancock Professorship of Hebrew and other Oriental Languages.

"A list of the books belonging to the late Library of Harvard College that were in the hands of the Overseers, Governors, & Students of the College & escap'd the flames," ca. 1764

This list appears to be the most comprehensive in this series. Although its contents are very similar to those of the list in Folder 2, there are some discrepancies. Entries are arranged by format (folio, quarto, octavo) and include the date the book was "delivered" (loaned), the name of the individual who borrowed it, and its author, title, and volume number. Many of the books had been out of the library for decades prior to the fire, with some loaned out since as early as 1742.

Draft of "A list of the books belonging to the late Library of Harvard College [...]," ca. 1764

This list appears to be a draft of the list in Folder 1. Although most of the entries match, there are some discrepancies.

Letter from Dr. Nathaniel Lardner to Jasper Mauduit listing books donated to Harvard, July 12, 1764, and manuscript copy of the letter

A pencilled note in the hand of John Langdon Sibley reads: "Probably the handwriting of Dr. Lardner." Sibley based his attribution on a letter from Nathaniel Lardner to Edward Wigglesworth, also written July 12, 1764, in the Houghton Library's autograph file during the nineteenth century. Verso of letter contains list, in another hand, of books donated to Harvard by Joseph Jennings.

List of Dr. Avery's books donated to Harvard by Jasper Mauduit, Oct. 5, 1764

"Dr. Avery" is Benjamin Avery, chairman of the British Committee of Protestant Dissenters, who died in 1764. Mauduit took responsibility for shipping the books which Avery had bequeathed to Harvard.

Lists of books granted to Harvard by the Massachusetts General Court, ca. 1778

The books listed were sequestered from "Cox & Berry's Collection" (British booksellers Cox and Berry) and from Province House, home to the royal Governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony prior to the American Revolution. To the left of each book's title is a number indicating how many copies of that title were received.

"A Catalogue of books given to Harvard College Library," undated

Lists books donated by a Dr. Chauncy, Mr. Pemberton, Joseph Green, William W. Kitwell(?), Mr. Sec[retar]y Oliver, William Greenleaf, Moses Gill, Mr. Bradstreet, Dr. Isaac Foster, Brigadier General Royall, Nicholas Sever, M.(?) Condy, Mr. Dolbear, Rev. Mr. Harris, Mr. Browne, Stephen Greenleaf, Thomas Cushing, Mr. Orne, Mr. Agar, Mr. Marion, Mr. Fleet, Mr. Davies, Mr. Barrett, Dr. Grant, and possibly others. Entries include author, title, volume number, and occasionally format.

I. Calculation of the length of printed lines of all the volumes in the Harvard Library, ca. 1789

This series contains one small leaf with handwritten calculations related to the number of volumes in the Harvard College Library. The verso has the note: "No. of Vol: in Harvard College 11465 vol. making one line 15380 miles long. The document is in the hand of Loammi Baldwin Sr., and may have been created in 1789 while the Library was compiling a catalog of its holdings.

Subseries E. Admittatur to Harvard College, 1785

This document, dated Sept. 9, 1785 and signed by Harvard's President, Joseph Willard, and its Steward, Caleb Gannett, granted Shapleigh admission to Harvard College.

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.

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.