Quarterly account book, 1722-1751

The quarterly accounts are held in one tall folio volume spanning the years 1722-1751. The volume contains three sections: a journal of quarterly accounts tallying money owed to the Butler by students and tutors, followed by a journal of purchases made by the Butler, and finally, written tête-bêche (from the back cover forward), a ledger with weekly calculations and final quarterly sums owed the Butler by students and tutors.

A Book of Accounts beginning Feb. 26 1791, 1791-1799

The marbled-hardcover book contains three sections: a two column debit and credit entry section for students and tutors, a list of "the Bills of the Senior Class calculated" for 1793 and 1794, and at the end of the volume a personal accounting of expenses from February 1797 through January 1799 kept by Shapleigh during the time he was Harvard's Librarian, for services including mending, wood hauling, and "To Miss Morie for cleaning windows & washing sheets," as well as purchases such as books, coffee, and theater tickets.

Diary and account book, 1780-1786

Shapleigh explains on the first page that this account book contains "an accurate account of the several articles I've received from my Guardian since the first day of May Anno 1780, continuing from year to year." The book lists material goods and money given to Shapleigh by Samuel Leighton, as well as many goods and services which Shapleigh appears to have purchased independently. Among the items he received were "a pair [of] Silver Knee Buckles," "an outside coat, alias, a Rapper," "two pair worsted stockings," and multiple ferry crossings during travel. Entries detail expenses incurred while traveling, including those "at Mystick for a glass of anisseed" and "at Newell's for 3 glasses of wine;" the costs of attending both Dummer Academy and Harvard; and myriad other goods and services. The volume contains some brief diary entries, lists of "items wanted," and records of books borrowed from and loaned to fellow students.

College Book 1, 1639-1795

This long and narrow leather-bound volume, sometimes referred to as the Long College Book, contains early records of Harvard's two governing boards, the Corporation and the Board of Overseers, as well as a miscellany of entries, made in multiple hands, on assorted topics. Although its proper title is College Book 1, the spine title reads "College Book 1 & 2" due to a nineteenth century labeling error. Proceedings from Corporation and Overseers' meetings were entered unsystematically in this volume, alongside financial statements and other records. The varied purposes of the individual quires which make up this volume, along with the early scarcity of paper, contribute to its disorganized nature. One scholar described it as "jumbled together in a haphazard way now impossible of explanation," although several other scholars have attempted to explain its organization. Some entries are in Latin.