Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1795 October 12

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley that briefly discusses coins.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1795 November 5

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley that discusses medals.

Book receipt of John Mellen and William Bentley, 1780 June 16

This half-page slip contains receipts for two Harvard College Library books received by Harvard College Tutors John Mellen (1752-1828; Harvard AB 1770) and William Bentley (1759-1819; Harvard AB 1777).

Letter from William Bentley to Edward Wigglesworth, [1780-1781]

This brief undated note from William Bentley (1759-1819; Harvard AB 1777) to Edward Wigglesworth concerns the need for paper book covers.

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 Bentley to William Tudor,

One letter from Bentley, a Unitarian minister in Salem, praising Tudor’s work on James Otis and offering his recollections of Otis from the late 18th century.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley (fragment), 1783

One folio-sized leaf containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly mentioning certain library acquisitions and including a transcription of a description of English Parliamentarian John Bourchier (1595-1660) from the Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow. The top of the leaf is torn and text is missing.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1783 January 27

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley containing cryptic gossip regarding an upcoming election of Winthrop and the claim of a "certain clergyman."

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1783 October 23

One octavo-sized leaf containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley referencing "business" that Winthrop entered his "written protest" of, and the upcoming ordination of Timothy Hilliard as the new minister of Cambridge, Mass.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1783 November 20

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the "trials of the Regicides" during the reign of King Charles II.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1783 December 1

Two leaves containing a four-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley providing a biographical description of English judge John Bradshaw (1602-1659).

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1784 February 8

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley with a lengthy discussion on a recent comet and related calculations.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1784 February 16

Two folio-sized leaves containing a three-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley regarding comet calculations and a short criticism of the sermons of Samuel Cooper (1725-1783).

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1784 March 13

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly mentioning book purchases and discussing Joseph Priestley's Disquisitions relating to matter and spirit.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1784 March 22

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a three-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions.