Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1815 March 16

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a brief half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley to accompany the deliver of a "small parcel of Irish Farthings."

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1815 April 16

One folio-sized leaf containing a brief half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley requesting time to visit with Hannah Crowninshield during the summer.

Letter from James Otis, Jr. to James Otis, Sr., and portrait print of James Otis Jr., 1743 June 17

Letter from Otis in Boston to his father, James Otis Sr. on June 17, 1743. In the short, half-page letter, Otis asks his father for money to pay for expenses relating to Commencement including the printing of theses, shoes, buckles, and any entertainment. He mentions that he will share entertainment expenses with his classmate Lothrop Russell.

Poems copied by James Diman, ca. 1730-1733

Small pamphlet-sized notebook containing handwritten transcriptions of three poems copied by James Diman, likely in the early 1730s. The notebook contains "The Catholic Remedy. to ye Tune of To all you Ladies, not at land &c.," "Father Ab--y's Will. Col. Sweeper Camb: Dec. 1731," and "The Poet's Lamentation for ye Loss of his cat, w'ch he used to call his Muse" copied from the London Magazine, November 1733. The "Catholic Remedy" begins "You Peope who desire to mend / your Desperate Estate..." and includes the note, "Made upon A--D--'s goving over to take orders. The note refers to the voyage of Addington Davenport (Harvard AB 1719) to England join the priesthood of the Church of England in 1730. "Father Ab--y's Will" begins "To my dear Wife, / My joy and Life..." and was a humorous poem published in 1731 after the death of Harvard College Sweeper Matthew Abdy, and attributed to Jonathan Seccombe (Harvard AB 1728). The "Poet's Lamentation" begins "Oppress'd with Grief, in heavy strains I mourn..." and was written by Joseph Green (Harvard AB 1726) as a parody of a psalm composed by Mather Byles (Harvard AB 1725). Pages 10-12, holding part of "Father Ab--y's Will" are missing, and pages 13-15 are no longer attached to the item.

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.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1784 April 6

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing Joseph Priestley's Disquisitions relating to matter and spirit, and possible references to astronomical phenomena in mythological stories. Winthrop briefly mentions a 1769 Harvard student poem attributed to his classmate Jonathan Williams Austin (1751-1779; Harvard AB1769).