Letter from James Winthrop to Edward Wigglesworth, 1780 November 29

In this brief letter, Winthrop agrees to continue as College Librarian.

Letter from William Bentley to Edward Wigglesworth, [1780-1781]

This brief undated note from William Bentley (1759-1819; Harvard AB 1777) to Edward Wigglesworth concerns the need for paper book covers.

Letter from Thomas Crafts to Edward Wigglesworth, 1781 May 22

This brief letter from Thomas Crafts (1759-1819; Harvard AB 1783) to Professor Wigglesworth concerns Craft's work on the catalogue of pamphlets in the library.

Letter from Robert Bell to Edward Wigglesworth, 1781 June 16

This brief letter from Robert Bell in Boston, Massachusetts, to Professor Edward Wigglesworth concerns the donation of books to the College Library.

[Library charging records, 1782]

This four-page undated list contains volume titles followed by the surname of Harvard faculty and students and presumably documents book borrowing from the College Library. The list is undated but notes members of the Harvard Class of 1782 as seniors.

Binding cost estimates, 1801

This six-page undated list contains volume titles and estimates for the cost of binding them. The list is undated, but one of the first entries contains the note, "from the year 1774 to the present time [1801]."

Classed book list, undated

This four-page undated list contains book titles primarily arranged into classes. The last page is titled, "Books for the red stamp."

Rules and orders respecting the Steward, Cook & Butler of Harvard College, [1686]

These regulations are a revision of the original 1650 rules that laid out the duties of the Steward, Butler, and Cook. In these updated regulations, the Rector and Tutor are now responsible for signing off on the Steward's accounts rather than the President and Fellows.

College commons records, 1765-1829 (inclusive)

This volume, containing chronologically arranged papers mounted and bound around 1840, provides comprehensive documentation of the College commons around the turn of the 19th century. In particular, the volume documents the role the Steward played in overseeing the Commons. The records chiefly consist of the quarter reports of the Committee assigned to review the Steward’s accounts. Other documents include lists of utensils, bills for dinners for the Corporation, Overseers, and Commencement, regulations, lists of abatements for students’ quarterly bills, and information on kitchen staff.

Student accounts in commons, 1772-1778

This small volume, sewn without a backing, contains student accounts in commons, with the dates students entered and left the College.

Requests to stop commons, 1775

Requests from Tutors John Wadsworth, Caleb Gannett, and Stephen Hall to the Steward, dated March 20, March 25, and April 4, 1775, to stop the commons of students. Reasons given include illness and absence from the College.

Draft of report from Committee appointed by the Corporation to revise the Laws relating to Commons at the meeting of April 6, 1778, April 17, 1778

This report contains changes to the regulations proposed by a Committee of the Corporation at the April 6, 1778 meeting of the Corporation (these regulations can be found in the College commons records, Box 1). The proposed changes were to the articles concerning the reporting of damages to utensils by the waiters, and the requirement for the Steward to present a quarterly inventory of the utensils.

Letter from Steward Caleb Gannett to President and Fellows, [1780]

This letter from Gannett, written shortly after he assumed the duties of the Steward, contains questions to the President and Fellows regarding his duties as Steward. He also discusses the impact of the post-Revolutionary War economic situation, describing the rapid rise of prices of goods.

Requests for abatement of commons, November 13, 1781

Request from Tutor John Mellen (Harvard College Class of 1770) for an abatement of his commons for his absence from the College due to illness and request from Eleazer James (Harvard College Class of 1778) for an abatement of his commons due to absence from the College.

Confession of students for walking out of commons, April 1807

This document, signed by 108 students, contains a confession for their part in the 1807 student rebellion. Students were required to sign this confession in order to avoid expulsion.