Quarterly account book, 1722-1751 Digital

The quarterly accounts are held in one tall folio volume spanning the years 1722-1751. The volume contains three sections: a journal of quarterly accounts tallying money owed to the Butler by students and tutors, followed by a journal of purchases made by the Butler, and finally, written tête-bêche (from the back cover forward), a ledger with weekly calculations and final quarterly sums owed the Butler by students and tutors.

Throughout the book, debts were calculated in British currency of pounds, shillings, pence, and farthings, with 4 farthings equaling 1 pence, 12 pence equaling 1 shilling, and 20 shillings equaling 1 pound.

The quarterly accounts follow a standard layout usually consisting of a last name (with names arranged by social rank), a tally of money owed, and in some cases a final calculation of the debt. Next to an individual's name, the Butler entered symbols and numbers according to what an individual purchased. "Γ" (the Greek uppercase letter for Gamma) indicated 2 farthings, an "E" indicated 1 pence, roman numerals were used for 2-9 pence, shillings were indicated by the arabic numeral followed by the "sh" suffix and a colon. An "X" appears to indicate when a bill was paid.

For example: Nathaniel Saltonstall, Harvard Class of 1728, had the following notes next to his name in one quarter: 82E226837E2sh:87E3427E7x which would be calculated as 2 shillings and 80 pence, or as the Butler entered it 0,8,8,0 meaning 8 shillings and 8 pence.

Interspersed with the quarterly accounts is the journal kept by the Butler of his purchases within identified time periods, typically an academic year. These descriptive entries list supplies bought by the Butler, including food such as bread, eggs, and turnips, and sundries such as black ribbon, candlesticks, and tablecloths.

A ledger, written tête-bêche (from the back cover forward), appears at the end of the volume, arranged by name, with 13 columns (and later rows) with weekly bill totals for students and tutors, and then a final quarterly sum.

There do not appear to be any Butlers specified by name in the volume.