Student notebook of Thomas Prince, ca. 1707

Paper notebook in Latin on classical Greek grammar. The name "Thomas Prince" appears on the first page. The manuscript is undated. Based on the signature, this volume is assumed to have belonged to Thomas Prince, Sr., although it is undated and may have indeed belonged to Thomas Prince, Jr.

Notebook, ca. 1714

Paper notebook with Latin text including theses titled "Divisio deber constare partibus paucissimis," "Forma dat esse rei --Theses primae," "Simile non agit in simile probabir à Mr T. Foxcroft in Thesis hâc," and "Lux est Corpus probatur 1712 Thesis." The notebook includes unattached pages of various sizes and a paper fragment.

Notebook, ca. 1714

Paper notebook of Latin grammar including verb conjugations.

Lux est Corpus, ca. 1714

Single folded piece of paper with Latin text titled "Lux est Corpus."

Antithesis: Elementa in propriis..., ca. 1714

Paper notebook comprised of two folded sheets of paper with Latin texts.

The antient customs of Harvard College, established by the Government of it, [ca. 1760s]

One-leaf undated handwritten fragment from the College customs signed "A true copy Attest Edward Wigglesworth" with the postscript "Thomas Leonards penison."

Agreement between John Lowell and John Walton, Thomas Mason, Joseph Holmes, and Samuel Mason to finish the basement of University Hall, 7 June 1814

This contract includes stipulations for finishing the two kitchens, windows, and floors in University Hall by the first of August 1815.

Draft of letter from Loammi Baldwin to Thomas Gill, 1836 September 23

A half-page handwritten draft of a letter to Thomas Gill written on the second leaf of a September 10, 1836 printed circular from Gill requesting copies of those who made speeches at the second Centennial Anniversary.

"A list of books borrowed from the former Library & not yet return'd," ca. 1764

Lists books borrowed by many individuals, including Governor William Shirley, Colonel Brinley, General Brattle, Secretary Willard, Judge Danforth, Colonel Wendell, Thomas Oliver, Christ Bridge Marsh, and Francis Foxcroft. Entries include the author and title of the borrowed volumes.

Description of a College Chamber (manuscript copy), ca. 1744

This humorous, rhyming poem appears to have been co-authored by Thomas Handcock of Massachusetts and Richard Waterman of Warwick, Rhode Island. The document is also signed by Catharine Waterman. Neither of the authors attended Harvard College, and the circumstances of this poem's creation are not known. The poem suggests that they composed the poem while visiting - uninvited - the room of "honest Bob." The poem describes the contents of this college chamber, including the following items: an oak table with a broken leg; paper, a pen, and sand for writing; books, including "Scotch songs," philosophy, Euclid, a book of prayer, Tillotson, and French romances; pipes and tobacco; mugs; a broken violin; copperplate and mezzotint prints; a cat; clothes; two globes; a pair of bellows; a broom; a chamber pot; a candle in a bottle; tea; cups and saucers; a letter to Chloe, to whom the room's inhabitant apparently owed money; a powder horn; a fishing net; a rusty gun; a battledore; a shuttlecock; a cannister; a pair of shoes; and a coffee mill. The poem references events related to the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748); British Vice Admiral Edward Vernon's siege of Portobello (in present-day Panama) in 1739; the "Rushian War" (perhaps the Russo-Swedish War of 1741-1743); and the War of Jenkins' Ear (the cat in the college chamber, like British Captain Robert Jenkins, has lost an ear).

John Winthrop's proposal respecting electrical globes and jars, ca. 1758

In this proposal, John Winthrop explains the need to replace damaged "electric globes" used in the College's collection of scientific apparatus. He states that Benjamin Franklin, at the time residing in London, was willing to seek replacement globes for the College's collection. Winthrop then proceeds to assert that the College should acquire "square bottles, of a moderate size, fitted in a wooden box, like what they call case bottles for spirits" instead of the large jars included in the scientific apparatus, because those jars cracked frequently.

Mr. Marsh's catalogue, ca. 1764

A half-page handwritten list of books with the author's surname, title, and location in the old Harvard Library, signed "Mr. Marsh." The list includes the note, "Shuckford's Connection is charged to you." The document is undated but presumably was created following the Harvard Hall Fire of 1764 as part of the College's efforts to inventory volumes that were spared because they were checked out at the time of the fire. Many of the books are listed in a charging record for Thomas Marsh recorded in a Harvard library account book (UAIII 50.15.60, Volume 1, Box 95), including "Shuckford's connection" which was charged to Marsh on September 23, 1763.

Abstracts of legislation relating to Harvard College governance (manuscript notebook), ca. 1723

Octavo-sized notebook containing handwritten abstracts of Massachusetts General Court legislation between 1650 and August 24, 1723 related to Harvard governance. The volume contains informal notes with extracts and summaries of legislation that established or amended the makeup and power of the Harvard Corporation. The authors of the volume are unidentified, but the notes appear to be in two different hands. The volume was presumably created during the fellowship controversy that erupted in the early 1720s after tutors Henry Flynt, Nicholas Sever, and Thomas Robie presented a memorial to the Board of Overseers calling for the tutors' right of fellowship in the Corporation.