Classology: An Anacreontic Ode, in imitation of "Heathen Mythology," 1843

8-page pamphlet.

Classology: An Anacreontic Ode, in imitation of "Heathen Mythology," 1843

8-page pamphlet bound in hardcover binding.

Junior Classology, undated

Handwritten copy of Junior Classology on two leaves of unlined paper, with two bars of music titled "Heathen Mythology" at the end. Student names and the phrase "High Go" are written in darker ink.

College Book 7, 1750-1778

This volume contains a fair copy of minutes from Corporation meetings held from Sept. 17, 1750 through April 23, 1778. It begins with an alphabetical index and contains entries related to a wide range of topics, including the challenges of operating the Charlestown ferry (due to the river freezing, fear of smallpox, and other issues); increases in "pecuniary mulcts" (fines) for breaches of specific College laws; the establishment of the Dudleian lecture; the selection and financial support of missionaries to various Indian tribes; honorary degrees awarded to Benjamin Franklin and George Washington; gifts to the library as it was rebuilt in the wake of the fire of 1764 (many entries provide the title and author of books donated); the management of land and property belonging to Harvard; Treasurers' reports and other financial accounts; changes in the College laws; gifts to the College, ranging from two Egyptian mummies to a solar microscope; the construction of the First Parish Meeting House in Cambridge and the use of adjacent College property by parishoners; rules of endowed professorships; salaries and appointments; closures due to the threat of smallpox; rules governing Commons and the College Library; reports of various Visiting Committees; class schedules, according to subject; student disorders; the establishment of a designated museum space to display "Curiosities"; the effects of the Revolutionary War on Harvard, including repeated requests to the General Court after the war for compensation for damage to College buildings; the cost of various foods and changes in what was served at Commons; and the danger of the chapel's roof, built of too-heavy slate, falling in. Also of interest are minutes from a May 5, 1761 meeting, which note that the General Court voted to pay for Hollis Professor John Winthrop to travel to Newfoundland to observe the transit of Venus "over the Suns disc."

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.

C. Miscellaneous poems and compositions, undated

Assorted poems and compositions on topics like happiness, politics, and Greek mythology. It is unclear if these were written by Tudor or transcribed or translated from the works of other authors.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1784 May 17

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing Alexander Pope and mythology, and a brief criticism of John Moore's A view of society and manners.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1784 June 12

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing mythology, a reference to the writing of David Hoar, and miscellaneous news.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1799 November 25

Two folio-sized leaves containing a one-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing James Dallaway's Constantinople, Ancient and Modern, and Greek mythology.

Shāhnāmah : manuscript, 1718-1721

Written in a professional taʻlīq script in black ink, rubricated in red, 20 lines per page in 4 gold-ruled columns. Contains 115 miniatures portraying various scenes from the poem.

Hādhihi al-safīnah al-mubārakah : manuscript, 1821

Title from colophon.