Student notebook of Ebenezer Parkman, 1720

The small hardcover notebook contains a manuscript copy of Charles Morton's Natural Philosophy copied by student Ebenezer Parkman (Harvard Class of 1721) in 1720, as well as notes on Hebrew grammar. The flyleaf has a faded note, "[This copy] was probably made by Parkman H.U. 1721 afterward minister of Westboro." The title page of the volume includes the handwritten title "Phylosophia Natvralis: Naturall Philosophy, By the Reverd Mr. Charles Morton Pastor of a Church in Charles Town, Beegan [sic] to recite it December 11, 1720 Willm Brattle's Book 1720 ended January 30 Anno Domini 1720 [January 30, 1720/1721]." The final page of the transcription is signed and dated "June 18, 1720 Parkman." The last pages of the volume consist of notes on Hebrew Grammar titled "Instruction in Hebrew."

Student notebook of Jonathan Trumbull, 1724-1725

The bound notebook contains academic texts copied by Harvard student Jonathan Trumbull in 1724 and 1725. The volume includes transcriptions of Harvard Instructor Judah Monis' Hebrew Grammar, Tutor William Brattle's Compendium of Logic, and Fellow Charles Morton's Natural Logic.

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.

Grammatica literarum, syllabarum, verborum, & sententiarum, 1754

One-page handwritten list of 20 numbered theses in Latin presumed to be copied by Bela Lincoln. The document is signed "Lincoln 1754." The document title translates as "Grammar of letters, syllables, words, and sentences" and includes all of the nine theses listed in the "Theses Grammaticae" section of the 1754 Commencement broadside.

Commonplace book of John Bullard, 1775-1779

This bound volume contains excerpts copied by Jonathan Bullard from books he read as a student at Harvard in the mid 1770s. Excerpts include an unattributed poem titled "On Friendship," which appeared in the "poetical essays" section of Volume 36 of the London Magazine in 1767; Joseph Butler, The Analogy of Religion, 1736; The Quaker's Grace; a history of England; Newton's laws; Plutarch's Morals; Benjamin Franklin's writings on the Aurora Borealis. The volume also includes several extracts from articles about the death of John Paddock (Class of 1776), who drowned in the Charles in the summer of 1773, sheet music for two songs, "The Rapture," and "A Song" from Henry Harington's "Damon and Chlora," and a transcription of the satirical "Book of Harvard," written in response to the Butter Rebellion of 1766. Interleaved in the middle of the volume is a transcription from an ecclesiastical event moderated by Ebenezer Bridge in Medford, Mass. on November 20, 1779. The variety of texts suggests the commonplace book was not used solely for academic works.

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].

Sermon notes compiled by Warham Williams, 1716-1718

Parchment-bound notebook containing notes kept by Warham Williams on sermons he attended between May 20, 1716 and April 20, 1718, while he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The notebook includes two chronological tables, at the front and end of the volume, that list the town, lecturer (generally Harvard tutors), biblical text, year, month, day, and part of the day of sermons attended by Williams. The volume contains one-to-two page entries on specific sermons and provides the biblical text and related questions and conclusions. From the front of the volume, the pages contain entries for sermons attended between May 20, 1716 through February 13, 1717. Sermon entries for April 7, 1717 to April 20 1718 are written tête-bêche from the other end of the volume.

Student notes of Elijah Dunbar, 1792-1793

Three unlined pages with notes written by Harvard undergraduate Elijah Dunbar. The documents consist of two pages of chemistry notes compiled in September 1792 when Dunbar was a junior and an undated, untitled list of theological themes. The chemistry notes include a summary of the discipline and a set of laws regarding the "affinity of composition." The verso of the second page was later annotated: "Borrow- He that discerneth Youth & Beau[ty] Elij. Dunar 2'd 1793. Rec'd David Tappan, Professor of Divinity in the University--Elijah Dunbar, jun." followed by a list of students identified as "Alchemists" in the "Ridiculous Society": Joseph Perkins, Isaac Braman, William Biglow, and Elijah Dunbar. The second document is an untitled list of 27 theological themes beginning "1. Doctrine of the Trinity," and ending "27. Family worship," and may refer to sermon or lecture topics.

Grammatica graeca, 1763

Bound volume containing a handwritten Greek grammar compiled by Joseph Drury beginning in 1763. The last sixteen pages contain a historical poem beginning, “Mason might once assert a Poets Claim. / But he must needs write.” The poem contains references to the “Great Patriot P—,“ the Roman conquest of Gall, Caeser, Versailles, and includes the verses, “How the King doth all his Cooks excel / Besides he longs to kiss his P / Saving your presence Louis keeps a whore.”