Student notebook of James Varney, 1721-1725

The bound notebook contains academic texts copied by Harvard student James Varney in the early 1720s. The texts are written tête-bêche (where both ends of the volume are used to begin writing). The front paste-down endpaper reads 'James Varney his book 1724,' and the rear paste-down endpaper reads 'Joseph Lovett' [AB 1728].

Letter from Thomas Fillebrown to William Tudor,

One letter regarding subscriptions for Tudor’s work on James Otis.

Letter from William Tudor to Thomas Jefferson,

One letter inquiring if the president corresponded with James Otis, or if he was aware of any fellow Virginians who had contact with Otis while he was alive. Tudor was seeking to obtain letters, or extracts of letters, that Otis had written. Following the onset of mental illness, Otis destroyed his personal papers, leaving few original materials documenting his life and career.

Letters from Henry Warren to William Tudor,

Two letters providing information and historical sources on James Otis.

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).

Power of attorney for Thomas Whippo, 1798 October 10

A handwritten translation of a power of attorney, on two folio-sized leaves, certified by Francis Sales and dated October 10, 1798. The power of attorney authorizes Isaac Whippo, an American citizen living in Bordeaux, France to act as the attorney general and special for his brother, Thomas Whippo, also an American citizen and captain of the ship the Ganges of New York. The power of attorney was created in the Office of Gabriel Duprat in Bordeaux, with William Henry Vernon translating for Thomas Whippo and was notarized by Joseph Fenwick, Consol of the United States of America on April 14, 1798.

Letters from Benjamin Welles to John Henry Tudor, 1799-1801

Benjamin Welles wrote these six letters to his friend and classmate, John Henry Tudor, between 1799 and 1801. Four of the letters are dated, and the dates of the other two can be deduced from their contents. Welles wrote Tudor four times in September 1799, at the onset of their senior year at Harvard, in an attempt to clear up hurt feelings and false rumors that he believed had caused a chill in their friendship. The cause of the rift is never fully explained, though Welles alludes to "a viper" and "villainous hypocrite" who apparently spread rumors and fueled discord between the two friends. In one letter, Welles asserts that "College is a rascal's Elysium - or the feeling man's hell." In another he writes: "College, Tudor, is a furnace to the phlegmatic, & a Greenland to thee feeling man; it has an atmosphere which breathes contagion to the soul [...] Villains fatten here. College is the embryo of hell." Whatever their discord, the wounds were apparently eventually healed; in a letter written June 26, 1800, Welles writes to ask Tudor about his impending speech at Commencement exercises. In an October 29, 1801 letter, Welles writes to Tudor in Philadelphia (where he appears to have traveled in attempts to recover his failing health) and expresses strong wishes for his friend's recovery and return to Boston. This letter also contains news of their classmate Washington Allston's meeting with painters Henry Fuseli and Benjamin West.

Account book of the executors of the Henry Flynt estate, 1760-1767

The volume contains acknowledgements of the disbursements of Harvard Tutor Henry Flynt's estate written in the hands of the respective beneficiaries. The entries begin on February 27, 1760 following Flynt's death on February 13, 1760, and continue through May 9, 1767. Each receipt includes the date, name of the executors, description of the property, beneficiary's name, and signature. The beneficiaries include the wife of Sol. Davy, Dorothy Jackson, Edmund Quincy, J. Henry Quincy, Esther and Stephen Richard (received by attorney Nicholas Boylston), Dorothy Skinner (also received for her by her husband Richard Skinner), John Wendell, Edmund Wendell, Katherine Wendell, and Oliver Wendell, as well as Harvard College (received by Harvard Treasurer Thomas Hubbard), and the Deacons of the First Church of Cambridge. The volume also includes a loose document titled "Account from Messrs Edmund & Josiah Quincy Settled & Ballanced March 31, 1749."

The invention of letters annotated by Charles Pinckney Sumner, ca. 1795-1796

Interleaved second-edition copy of Robert Treat Paine's poem "The Invention of Letters" with handwritten excerpts of 18th century poetry copied by Charles Pinckney Sumner. The excerpts appear to be verses alluded to, or emulated, by Paine in the poem. For example, Paine's verse includes "Beneath the shade, which Freedom's oak displays" and Sumner on the opposite page quoted Alexander Pope's poetry, "Beneath the shade a spreading beech displays." The excerpts include poetry by Alexander Pope, James Thompson, Robert Dodsley, William Falconer, William Hayley, Samuel Rogers, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Thomas Gray, and John Denham.

Pamphlets - homoeopathic.

Title from spine.

Salem Township (Mich.) residences, ca. 1874

Left to right: Res. of Daniel T. Birch, Sec. 31, Salem Tp. Mich.; Res. of J.L. Bennett, Sec. 15, Salem Tp. Mich.; Res. of Calvin Wheeler, Sec. 27, Salem Tp. Mich.; Res. of G.N.B. Renwick, Sec 27, Salem Tp. Mich.; Res. of Eli O. Smith, Sec 14, Salem Tp. Mich.; Res. of T.B. Gorton, Sec 3. Salem Tp. Mich. Publication information: Chicago, Ill. : Everts & Stewart, 1874.

Top: Res. and Mill of Thomas Birkett, Sec. 12, Dexter Tp. Mich.; Bottom: Res. of Agur Taylor, Sec. 24, Dexter Tp. Mich.

Dexter, Mich. residences and mill. Publication information: Chicago, Ill. : Everts & Stewart, 1874.

Webster and Dexter Township (Mich.) residences, ca. 1874

Left to right: Res. of Samuel H. Ball, Sec 5, Webster Tp. Mich.; Res. of Alexander Mallion, Sec 28, Wester Tp., Mich.; Res. of J.B. Arms, Sec 4, Webster Tp. Mich.; Res. of Frederick Lee, Sec 30, Webster Tp. Mich.; Res. of Patrick Fleming, Sec 25, Dexter Tp. Mich.; Res. of W.. Brass, Sec 31, Webster Tp. Mich. Publication information: Chicago, Ill. : Everts & Stewart, 1874.

Dexter Township (Mich.) residences, ca. 1874

Left to right: Res. of G.J. Howard, Sec.7, Webster Tp. Mich.; Res. of Dennis Warner, Dexter, Mich.; Res. of Green Johnson, Sec. 29, Dexter Tp. Mich.; Res. of Henry Warner, Sec. 29, Dexter Tp. Mich. Publication information: Chicago, Ill. : Everts & Stewart, 1874.

Sylvan Township (Mich.) residences, ca. 1874

Left to right: Res. of Hiram Pierc, Sec. 13, Sylvan Tp. Mich.; Res. of the Hon. James M. Congdon, Sec. 13, Sylvan Tp. Mich.; Res. of E. Spencer, Sec. 35, Sylvan Tp. Mich.; Res. of Isaac Taylor, Sec 1, Sylvan Tp. Mich. Publication information: Chicago, Ill. : Everts & Stewart, 1874.