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.

Epitaph for Henry Flynt : manuscript copy, 1760

Twenty-five line handwritten epitaph in Latin written by Professor Edward Wigglesworth for Henry Flynt. Begins, "Huic Tumulo mandantur Exuvia / Vin admodum venerabilis Henrici Flynt Armigeri."

Salutatory address of Abiel Abbot, 1792

Six-unlined pages containing a handwritten copy of the salutatory address composed by Abiel Abbot in Latin for the 1792 Harvard College Commencement. The text includes edits and struck-through words. The first page includes the title "Autore Abiele Abbot" and has a penciled note: "This must be gr. grandfather's Latin oration when he graduated from Harvard, with honors, in 1792."

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..."

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.

An oration upon genius : Commencement address, 1797

Sixteen-page paper notebook containing a handwritten copy of an essay titled "An Oration upon Genius" composed by AM candidate Joseph Perkins for the 1797 Harvard Commencement. The verso of the last page contains the handwritten title: "Oration on Genius first Copy. July 17th Commencement 1797." The essay discusses themes of republicanism and education and begins, "To mark the peculiar operation of liberty on mental exertion and improvement..."

Un receuil: containing painting, penmanship, algebra and pieces selected from various authors in prose and verse, with a few pieces in French with their translation / by Phebe Folger of Nantucket : manuscript, 1797-1806

Written mostly in a copperplate hand in black ink, and illustrated with watercolor drawings.

Theses of 1663

Handwritten document written in Latin and dated August 1663 purported to be the Harvard College Commencement Theses of 1663, but considered by John Noble of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts to be a contemporary parody. Noble notes of the 1663 Theses, that "there seems to be no reason to doubt that this is a genuine, original manuscript of the date which it bears," but describes it as a "blaze of literary and scholastic pyrotechnics" that suggests it was created satirically (John Noble, "Harvard Theses of 1663" in the Publications of the Colonial Society, Volume V: Transactions, April 1898, pages 322-339).

Commonplace book of John Holyoke, 1662 - May 1663

This unbound commonplace book was kept by John Holyoke during 1662 and 1663. The volume contains chiefly religious quotations and sermon notes (possibly of sermons preached by Holyoke himself), in English, Latin and Greek. Both ends of the volume were used to begin writing: the front page reads “Johannes Holyoke, adjunctu occupatu, May-1663” and the rear page reads “Johannes Holyoke [illegible] 1662.” The texts do not follow a straight tête-bêche model, where one text is upside down in relation to the other; rather, the texts change direction several times within the volume. The volume also includes part of letter sent to Holyoke’s grandfather Pynchon, September 16, 16?? [date illegible], as well as a series of alphabetically arranged quotations.

Student notebook of John Tufts, 1705

Small vellum-covered notebook containing handwritten transcriptions copied by Harvard undergraduate John Tufts from two Harvard textbooks. The notebook is divided into two sections with the first, numbered 1-100, containing an English transcription of "Compendium of Logick" compiled by William Brattle, and the second, numbered 1-66, containing an untitled Latin transcription of Charles Morton's "Compendium Physicae." The flyleaf is inscribed "John Tufts His Book 1705."

Student mathematical notebook of Ebenezer Hill, 1785

This mathematical notebook of Ebenezer Hill was kept in 1795 while he was a student at Harvard College. The volume contains rules, definitions, problems, drawings, and tables on arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, surveying, calculating distances, and dialing. Some of the exercises are illustrated by hand-drawn diagrams, including some of buildings and trees.

Student mathematical notebook of Ephraim Eliot, 1779

Handwritten mathematical notebook of Ephraim Eliot, kept in 1779 while he was a student at Harvard College. The volume contains rules, definitions, problems, drawings, and tables on arithmetic, geometry, trigonometry, surveying, calculating distances, and dialing. Some of the exercises are illustrated by unrefined hand-drawn diagrams, as well as a sketch of a mariner’s compass. The sections on navigation, mensuration of heights, and spherical geometry are titled but not completed. The ink of the later text, beginning with Trigonometry, is faded.

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.

Commonplace book of Jonathan Belcher, 1725-1727

This leather-bound volume contains excerpts copied by Jonathan Belcher from books he read while he was a student at Harvard. The excerpts come from a variety of sources including periodicals and contemporary publications. The inside cover has Belcher's bookplate with the motto, "Sustine. Abstine." The back cover has some additional personal information including reference to French lessons with "Mr Law Merciers," and notes of the dates when he began certain books/essays.

The summary of a course of experimental lectures in natural philosophy by Dr. John Winthrop (manuscript copy), 1772-1774

Notebook with a handwritten copy of lecture summaries for a physics course given by Harvard Professor John Winthrop. The notes were made by Timothy Foster in 1772 and 1773. The volume contains twenty-five lectures with some diagrams.