Chancery decree, June 1786

Portion of decree in the case of George John Fardo v. Commissioners of Confiscation. Signed by Richard Hutson, John Mathews and John Rutledge. Filed 20 June 1786. The text of the decree itself, evidently once enclosed in this sheet, is missing.

Oratio salutatoria et oratio valedictoria, ca. 1763

Undated and unattributed handwritten Latin salutatory and valedictory orations composed for the Harvard College Commencement. A modern note with the materials suggests Nathaniel Sparhawk (Harvard AB 1765) as the author, but the author was more likely Joseph Hooper (Harvard AB 1763), who delivered the orations for the 1763 Harvard Commencement. While the documents are undated, textual clues include mention of the command of George III in recent war against France and Spain, suggesting the speech was written soon after the Treaty of Paris which was signed in February 1763 to end the Seven Years' War. The speech also celebrates Harvard Tutor William Kneeland, who resigned from his position in July 1763, and mentions the illness of Professor Edward Wigglesworth (who died before the 1765 Commencement). The text also mentions Professor John Winthrop and Massachusetts Governor Francis Bernard.

An English oration : 1783

Paper notebook containing a handwritten copy of an essay titled "An English Oration" composed by Harrison Gray Otis for the 1783 Harvard Commencement. The essay discusses the American Revolution and begins, “An Omission of the usual appeals..."

Quaedam Theses extractae potissimii ex Enchiridio Metaphisico ca. 1718

Small paper notebook with a handwritten copy of a Latin text titled “Quaedam Theses extractae potissimii ex Enchiridio Metaphisico” attributed to John Clark and J. Remington and copied by a Harvard student, likely Richard Dana (Harvard AB 1718). The text is a précis of sections of Jean Le Clerc's "Ontologia et Pneumatologia" prepared by Harvard Tutor Jonathan Remington (Harvard AB 1696). The paper cover is inscribed “Carpenter” and the first page includes the inscriptions “Rosewell Saltonstall,” “Ezra Carpenter,” and "R. Dana” indicating the book was once owned by Harvard students Richard Dana (Harvard AB 1718), Roswell Saltonstall (Harvard AB 1720), and Ezra Carpenter (Harvard AB 1720).

Greek translations by Benjamin Wadsworth, 1766

Two-page handwritten Greek translations created by Harvard sophomore Benjamin Wadsworth on folio-sized paper. The document contains Greek translations of two letters from J. Garretson's "English exercises for school-boys to translate into Latin," copied by Wadsworth in 1766. The first page contains two sections: "As it is in English. A Letter from one friend to another," containing a copy of Garretson's Epistle IV from "E.C.," and a Greek translation of the letter beginning "Kypie..." The second page contains a Greek translation of Garretson's Epistle III from "B.J," and a note by Wadsworth: "A Letter from one Brother to another. Taken out of Garetson's English Exercise. The 3rd Exercise. or 135st page. There is not room or I would write down the English out of which I translated it. September the 2d A.D. 1766. When I was a sophomore." The document is bordered with hand-drawn double lines.

Student essay composed by Curtis Guild, 1795

Two-page handwritten essay written in English by Curtis Guild when he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The essay is titled with a quote in Latin from Virgil, "Omnis in Ascanio cari stat cura parentis," that translates as, “All the fond Parent’s Care centers in Ascanio.” The essay begins, “The machinery of man is wonderful…” and discusses parental affection. The essay is signed “C Guild” and dated May 7, 1795.

Student essay composed by Edmund Toppan, 1795

Four-page handwritten student essay composed in English by Edmund Toppan as a Harvard undergraduate. The verso of the last page is inscribed "Toppan June 22'd 1795." The essay is titled with a quote from Horace: "Qui non moderabitur irae, Infectum volet esse, dolor quod suaserit et mens." The essay discusses the destructive force of uncontrolled passion and begins, "Last evening, having a very disagreeable head-ache, I early retired to bed."

Student essay composed by Thomas Mason, 1796

Three-page folio-sized handwritten student essay composed by Thomas Mason as a Harvard undergraduate. The verso of the last page is inscribed "Mason February 1796." A quotation from Edward Young appears at the top of the first page: "Heaven gives us friends to bless the present science; / Resumes them, to prepare us for the rest." The essay discusses friendship and the death of friends, and begins, "The author of our nature has so constituted it, that pleasure is unknown without the intervention of pain."

Student poem composed by Jacob Abbot Cummings, 1799 September 16

Handwritten poem composed by Jacob Abbot Cummings when he was an undergraduate at Harvard College. The rhyming poem celebrates morning (as a metaphor for life) and describes the farmer, industrious milk maid, and market man. It begins, “Loud speaks the clarion of approaching day..." The poem is labeled "16 September 1799 Cummings" and is headed with a quote from John Milton's Paradise Lost: "Sweet in the breath of morn, her rising sweet, with song of earliest bird."

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.”

Essays : manuscript, [17--]

Essays on the dispersion of mankind, the Council of Trent, the invention of writing, and other topics.

Thaddeus Mason Harris' working documents regarding subject-based library catalog, ca. 1790

Thaddeus Mason Harris, who served as interim librarian of the Harvard College Library in 1787 and as its librarian from 1791 through 1793, is believed to have created these notes while helping compile the library's first printed subject-based catalog. The catalog, Catalogus Bibliothecae Harvardianae Cantabrigiae Nov-Anglorum, was published in 1790 and represented a significant change in approach to the cataloging of the library's collections, which had formerly been cataloged alphabetically. These documents, many of them on small scraps of paper, contain the titles and bibliographic information of books on a range of topics, from "Anatomici" to "Rhetorica."

Sermons : manuscript, 1788-1791

Nine sermons concerning Revelations 7, Hebrews 7, Psalms 174, Matthew 16, and other chapters, delivered chiefly at Hampton, New Hampshire. Includes an epitaph in memory of Thayer.

Orderly book : manuscript, 1775-1776

Orderly book kept by Fogg, the Adjutant for Colonel Enoch Poor's 2d New Hampshire Regiment on Winter Hill, during the siege of Boston, Aug. 23, 1775-Jan. 6, 1776.

Septenary : manuscript, 1737-1745, 1755

Diary dated 1737 Sept. 19-1745 Aug. 19, chiefly concerns Robbins' personal religious faith. Also includes notes for a sermon on the death of Maj. Isaac Foot, who died in the French and Indian War.