Annotated almanac, 1775

Almanac containing one laid-in leaf and interleaved pages with entries in John Winthrop's hand. The interleaved pages include entries include brief, nearly daily notes of social engagements and travel by Winthrop during the year the Winthrops were forced to evacuate Cambridge because of the Revolutionary War. The short entries include notes of the Battle of Concord (April 19), a fire in Boston (May 17), the Battle of Bunker Hill (June 17), the choosing of councillors at Concord (June 21), and the notable entries "wth Genl Washington (August 12)" and "All day packg up Apparatus & Library" (June 16). The laid-in leaf contains an account of household purchases made while the Winthrops were living with Nehemiah Abbot Andover from May to June and later in Concord. The laid-in leaf is written on a note beginning "Mr. Winthrop presents his most respectful compliments to the Hon'ble Col. Hancock and to the rest of the Gentlemen Select-men..."

Student mathematical notebook of William Tudor, 1795

Notebook containing the handwritten mathematical exercises of William Tudor, kept in 1795 while he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The volume contains rules, definitions, problems, drawings, and tables on geometry, trigonometry, surveying, calculating distances, sailing, and dialing. Some of the exercises are illustrated with hand-drawn diagrams. The Menusration of Heights and Distances section contains color drawings of buildings and trees, and some have been altered with notes in different hands and with humorous additions. For instance, a drawing of a tower was drawn into a figure titled “Egyptian Mummy.” Some of the images are identified: “A rude sketch of the Middlesex canal,” Genl Warren’s monument on Bunker Hill,” “Noddles Island,” “the fields of Elysium,” and the “Roxbury Canal.” The annotations and additional drawings are unattributed.

Letter from William Tudor to his father, William Tudor,

This lengthy letter, written to the elder William Tudor while he was in England, describes Tudor’s plans following his graduation from Harvard and provides updates on the activities of his siblings and the management of the household in Boston and family estate, Rockwood. He also writes about local culture, describing the plans of a Boston theater to put on a play called "Bunker Hill."

Letter from William Tudor to Thomas Handasyd Perkins,

One letter in which Tudor writes of his relief at the acquittal of his brother-in-law Charles Stewart at a court martial. He also discusses speculation and trade, his shares in silver mines at Bella Vista and Chanca, Peru, and the political climate. He additionally references his role in planning the monument at Bunker Hill in Charlestown, writing, "I had something to do in originating and preparing the way for the Bunker Hill monunument, a truly patriotic object, which I believed was a proper way to excite public enthusiasm."

Deposition of Abraham Hill against Nathan Prince, Nov. 1, 1740

Abraham Hill (A.B. 1737) claimed that Prince had come to his College chamber "smoaking a pipe of Tobacco" the previous summer and asked numerous unusual questions. Hill also testified that Prince had accused fellow Tutor Daniel Rogers of being someone who "never did know what a scholar was" and Tutor Henry Flynt of having been "superannuated long ago." This deposition was attested by Justice of the Peace Trowbridge.

Student mathematical notebook of Ebenezer Hill, 1785

This mathematical notebook of Ebenezer Hill was kept in 1795 while he was a student at Harvard College. The volume contains rules, definitions, problems, drawings, and tables on arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, surveying, calculating distances, and dialing. Some of the exercises are illustrated by hand-drawn diagrams, including some of buildings and trees.