Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1795 October 12

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley that briefly discusses coins.

Letter from James Winthrop to William Bentley, 1795 November 5

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley that discusses medals.

Inquiry of land rights, c. 1795

Handwritten list of five directives for completing the title search on a property purchased by a Mr. Harris from Andrew Bordman IV. The property was inherited from Bordman's mother Sarah, who in turn received the property from the estate of her brother Spencer Phips.

Letters from Daniel Bates to William Jenks, May 1795-September 1798

Daniel Bates wrote these five letters to his friend and classmate, William Jenks, between May 1795 and September 1798. In a letter written May 12, 1795, Bates informs Jenks, who was then employed as an usher at Mr. Webb's school, of his studies of Euclid, the meeting of several undergraduate societies, and various sightings of birds, gardens and trees. In a letter written in November 1795 from Princeton, where he was apparently on vacation with the family of classmate Leonard Jarvis, he describes playing the game "break the Pope's neck" and tells Jenks what he was reading (Nicholson, Paley?, and Thompson) and what his friend's father was reading (Mirabeau and Neckar).

Letters from John Hubbard Church to William Jenks, 1795-1798

John Hubbard Church wrote these twelve letters to his friend and classmate William Jenks between 1795 and 1798. Church wrote the letters from Boston, Rutland, Cambridge, and Chatham in Massachusetts and from Somers, Connecticut; they were sent to Jenks in Cambridge and Boston, where for a time he worked as an usher in Mr. Vinall's school and Mr. Webb's school. Church's letters touch on various subjects, ranging from his increased interest in theology and his theological studies under Charles Backus to his seasickness during a sailing voyage to Cape Cod. Church also informs Jenks of what he is reading, including works by John Locke, P. Brydone, James Beattie, John Gillies, Plutarch, and Alexander Pope. He describes his work teaching that children of the Sears family in Chatham, Massachusetts, where he appears to have spent a significant amount of time between 1795 and 1797. Church's letters are at times very personal, and he often expresses great affection for Jenks and their friendship.

Surveying workbook : manuscript, 1793-1795

Notes from Robert Gibson's Treatise of practical surveying, including diagrams and tables, with field notes and comments.

A discourse on natural religion: delivered in the chapel of the University in Cambridge, September 3r, 1795, at the lecture founded by the Honourable Paul Dudley, Esqr

The hand-sewn notebook contains a manuscript draft of the Dudleian lecture delivered by Thomas Barnard on September 3, 1795 at Harvard College. The sermon begins with the Biblical text Acts 14-57. The copy includes a small number of edits and struck-out words. The covers are no longer with the item.

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.

Letters from Timothy Pickering to his brother and father, 1797-1798

These two handwritten letters by Timothy Pickering were written on February 14, 1797 and June 14, 1798 to his brother John Pickering and his father Timothy Pickering, respectively. The letter to his brother, John, discusses mutual friends, classmate Thomas Lee, and John’s recent attendance at a sermon by Dr. Joseph Priestley. The letter from Timothy to his father includes a discussion of Timothy’s expenses and the amount of money needed to pay his debts, a request for new shoes for commencement, the news of Timothy’s invitation to join honor society Phi Beta Kappa, and a few comments on his forensics course at Harvard.

Student lectures notes on chemistry and materia medica, and medical recipes, of Lyman Spalding, 1795-1799 (inclusive)

Contains notes taken by Harvard student Lyman Spalding during eleven chemistry lectures delivered by Harvard Professor Aaron Dexter (1750-1829) in the fall of 1795 and recipes prepared and used by Spalding in his medical practice in 1797. The recipes include elixir vitriol, containing liquor, Jamaica pepper, cinnamon, and ginger, and an electuary for a cough, containing oxymel squills (sea onion in honey), licorice, antimonium tartaricum potash (a compound of the chemical element antimony and a potassium-containing salt), and opium. The volume also contains writings about chemistry by Spalding, some of which appear transcribed from published sources, in undated entries, and a diary entry from 1799 regarding an experiment with water.