A collection of the most approved pieces of music from various authors: transcribed while member of Harvard University, from July 1789 to July 1793

John Pierce kept this journal while he was a student at Harvard College. It consists of manuscript musical scores with annotations indicating the occasions at which the music was performed. These occasions included commencements, public exhibitions and Dudleian lectures. A note indicates that one anthem was prepared by Samuel Holyoke at Pierce's request, to be performed at Pierce's class commencement exercises, held on July 13, 1793. Several annotations were made in May 1794, the year following Pierce's graduation. There is a table of contents on the last page.

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.

Letters from Giovanni Batista Sartori to William Tudor,

Two letters, signed John B. Sartori, the founder of the first spaghetti factory in the United States, regarding the production and sales of pasta.

Nouveaux memoires touchant le Mexique ou la Nouvelle Espagne: recueillis sur les lieux avec une attention particulière par Mr. de Montségur, capitaine de vaisseaux du roy catolique pendant les annees 1707 et 1708 : manuscript, [17--]

Manuscript, in an unidentified hand, with revisions and corrections in a different hand [Monségur?].

B. Copies of three letters to Moody Noyes, 1800

It is unknown who made these manuscript copies of three letters from John Henry Tudor to Moody Noyes; they are not in Tudor's hand. The letters were written on September 23, 1800; November 7, 1800; and February 20, 1801. Noyes and Tudor were classmates at Harvard College, where both graduated in the class of 1800. The letters were written after they had graduated from Harvard, and in them Tudor recounts travels with his family around New England, including a stay in Saratoga and Ballston Springs, New York; his interest, shared by Moody, in entering into a store or other form of business, although he found "merchants in general [to be] a contemptible set of beings"; the maxims of the Duke de la Rochefoucauld; his hurt feelings at Moody's failure to answer his letters; and his imminent travels to Cuba with his brother, Frederic, made in hopes of restoring his health.

B. Copies of three letters to Moody Noyes, 1800

It is unknown who made these manuscript copies of three letters from John Henry Tudor to Moody Noyes; they are not in Tudor's hand. The letters were written on September 23, 1800; November 7, 1800; and February 20, 1801. Noyes and Tudor were classmates at Harvard College, where both graduated in the class of 1800. The letters were written after they had graduated from Harvard, and in them Tudor recounts travels with his family around New England, including a stay in Saratoga and Ballston Springs, New York; his interest, shared by Moody, in entering into a store or other form of business, although he found "merchants in general [to be] a contemptible set of beings"; the maxims of the Duke de la Rochefoucauld; his hurt feelings at Moody's failure to answer his letters; and his imminent travels to Cuba with his brother, Frederic, made in hopes of restoring his health.

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.

Letter from John Quincy Adams to his brother, Thomas Boylston Adams, 1786 July 2

This letter was written by John Quincy Adams on July 2, 1786 to his younger brother, Thomas Boylston Adams, who was then staying with their uncle, the Reverend John Shaw, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. In the letter, John gives Thomas advice on life as a student at Harvard, instructing him to choose his friends carefully, to favor those who are virtuous and studious over those who are idle and prone to vice, to maintain an "unblemished moral reputation," and to spend as much as six hours each day studying in order to excel as a scholar.

Letters from John Thornton Kirkland to William Tudor,

One letter regarding a stone chapel being built at Harvard, and one letter providing biographical information on James Otis.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters written from Birmingham, England, in which Tudor suggests changes to Harvard’s grounds and facilities, hiring practices for tutors, and university publications. He also alludes to the War of 1812.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters written from Boston regarding plans to establish a new literary periodical, the North American Review. Tudor asks Kirkland to contribute to the periodical and describes plans to establish a lecture series at the Boston Athenaum.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Six letters written from Boston mainly discussing Tudor’s efforts to obtain content for the North American Review and printing deadlines.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Five letters mainly regarding the status of the North American Review. Tudor asks Kirkland to submit content and also inquires whether the Review could be made an official publication of Harvard. Other topics include a project to unite the libraries of local literary institutions and create a classification scheme, and the defense of Harvard’s Unitarian principles.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Four letters regarding the North American Review, as well as Tudor’s request to be considered for a position as Smith Professor of French and Spanish Languages and Literature at Harvard.

Letters from William Tudor to John Thornton Kirkland,

Three letters, one in which Tudor suggests persuading the Episcopal Church to send a bishop to reside in Cambridge and establish a divinity professorship as a means to attract students from other states who are wary of Unitarianism. Tudor also makes inquiries regarding the title of Doctor for a Reverend Chaplin and asks about college records of James Otis.