Papers of William Bentley

One folio-sized leaf containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly mentioning certain library acquisitions and including a transcription of a description of English Parliamentarian John Bourchier (1595-1660) from the Memoirs of Edmund Ludlow. The top of the leaf is torn and text is missing.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley containing cryptic gossip regarding an upcoming election of Winthrop and the claim of a "certain clergyman."

One octavo-sized leaf containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley referencing "business" that Winthrop entered his "written protest" of, and the upcoming ordination of Timothy Hilliard as the new minister of Cambridge, Mass.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the "trials of the Regicides" during the reign of King Charles II.

Two leaves containing a four-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley providing a biographical description of English judge John Bradshaw (1602-1659).

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley with a lengthy discussion on a recent comet and related calculations.

Two folio-sized leaves containing a three-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley regarding comet calculations and a short criticism of the sermons of Samuel Cooper (1725-1783).

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly mentioning book purchases and discussing Joseph Priestley's Disquisitions relating to matter and spirit.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a three-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions.

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing Joseph Priestley's Disquisitions relating to matter and spirit, and possible references to astronomical phenomena in mythological stories. Winthrop briefly mentions a 1769 Harvard student poem attributed to his classmate Jonathan Williams Austin (1751-1779; Harvard AB1769).

One folio-sized leaf containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the case of "Capt. H." whose ship was "legally condemned by the French Court.

One octavo-sized leaf containing a brief one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley with a complaint about not receiving the Salem Gazette.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing Alexander Pope and mythology, and a brief criticism of John Moore's A view of society and manners.

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing mythology, a reference to the writing of David Hoar, and miscellaneous news.

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing "the disturbances & murders at the Southward," the disciplinary case of Charles Ferguson of Charleston, Carolina who entered with the Class of 1786, and criticism of a new, unidentified Harvard Corporation member, likely John Lowell (1743-1802; Harvard AB 1760) who was elected to the Corporation in April 1784.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the Charles Ferguson disciplinary case.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the purchase of the Pentaglot Lexicon from Professor Stephen Sewall, and recent book purchases.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a two-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing Professor Eliphalet Pearson and the discovery of brass and copper coins in Medford, Mass.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly mentioning the purchase of the Pentaglot Lexicon. The second leaf is torn and a fragment, but no text is missing.

Two folio-sized leaves containing a one-page brief handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley mentioning the receipt of certain items and Winthrop's presentation of a geometric solution at an Academy meeting.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley discussing the Federal Constitution and the balance of power between the states and federal government. The second leaf is torn.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly discussing Winthrop's progress on geometric problems.

Two leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley that mentions Rev. John Prince (1751-1836) and briefly discussing the state of Winthrop's microscope and five volumes presented to Harvard that were printed in Calcutta, India.

Two octavo-sized leaves containing a one-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley briefly mentioning some books and an upcoming inspection of library books.

Two folio-sized leaves containing a two-and-a-half-page handwritten letter from Winthrop to Bentley containing a "memorandum of the principles on which the pentagraph is constructed." The text includes two geometric diagrams.