Papers of Helen Lawrence Appleton Brooks, 1822-1985

Mostly correspondence between family members, beginning with Catherine Lawrence and Charles Appleton, the parents of Helen Brooks. Also records of Brooks' voluntary activities, her diaries and personal writings, and material collected by Grace Norton about Henry James.

Diploma of Cornelius Coolidge, AB, 1798

Handwritten diploma with the Harvard University seal conferring a bachelor's degree on Cornelius Coolidge and signed by the members of the Harvard Corporation: President Joseph Willard; Fellows Oliver Wendell, John Lowell, James Bowdoin, Simeon Howard, and John Lathrop; and Treasurer Ebenezer Storer.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 September 24

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley comparing the travel accounts of James Bruce and Henry Salt (1780-1827).

Letter from William Tudor to his brother, Henry James Tudor,

In this letter written to his youngest brother from London, Tudor promises when he returns to America, he will protect him from their siblings if they have been picking on him.

Letters from Henry James Tudor to his brother, William Tudor,

One letter written to Tudor from Ligorno, Italy, criticizes the contents his correspondence as containing a "dull, vapid succession of sentences"; it also contains a message to their mother regarding his extensive travels in Europe. One letter written from New Orleans addresses their brother Frederic’s health, and his ice business in Cuba and the West Indies.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 March 26-27

Two folio-sized leaves containing a one-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley responding to his request for a boarding room in Cambridge, and providing brief mention of books.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 March 29

Two folio-sized leaves containing a one-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly describing a painting of General William Pepperrell, and mentioning Mrs. Dunlap, the mother of Andrew Dunlap (Harvard AB 1813) and thoughts regarding the display of a print.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 April 16

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a brief one-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley that describes a book of Shakespeare with prints.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 May 13

Two folio-sized leaves containing a three-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing Winthrop's attempts to print Chinese characters with moveable type. The document also has notes on books in Bentley's hand.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 October 29

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the Red Sea and Egypt. The verso of the second leaf has brief notes in Bentley's hand.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 November 18

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a brief one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley noting the transmission of a French book for Hannah Crowninshield (1789-1834), an artist and daughter of Bentley's neighbor.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1811 November 19

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a brief one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley updating Bentley on the progress of Andrew Dunlap.

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.

Student mathematical textbook of James Freeman, 1774

Manuscript volume containing portions of text copied from Nicholas Saunderson’s Elements of algebra, Nicholas Hammond’s The elements of algebra, and John Ward’s The young mathematician’s guide. The volume is divided into two main parts: the first is titled Concerning the parts of Arithmetick (p. 1-98) and the second, The elements of Algebra, extracted from Hammond, Ward & Saunderson (p. 99-259).