Theophilus Norris cypher book, ca. 1783-ca. 1795
1 volume
1 volume
71 items
The Gideon Aldrich collection contains material related to Aldrich's time at the Friends' Boarding School in Providence, Rhode Island, in the early 1850s. His mother Phebe and several of his siblings, particularly Mary, wrote many of the earliest letters in the collection. In their letters, they updated him on the events that colored their daily lives, and often alluded to their devout Quaker beliefs; several of the letters from December 1850 relate to a measles outbreak reported at the Friends' School. Gideon's friends wrote most of the later letters, in which they expressed their affinity for a variety of personal interests, including baseball (March 17, 1852), sleighing, and other leisure activities. One letter from Huldah H. Sawyer paints a picture of early San Francisco, extolling the weather but lamenting the frequency of death in the city and the questionable morality of local women (February 11, 1853). Together, the letters represent the concerns and daily happenings of Quaker life in mid-19th century Massachusetts. In addition to the correspondence, the collection also holds three books used by Gideon Aldrich while at school; these include two penmanship exercise books and a composition book, which contains essays on topics such as a Quaker quarterly meeting, a description of Uxbridge, and a "Skating Party" (1851). Other material within the collection includes an 1853 valentine, several quotation cards, and a newspaper clipping.
13 volumes
The seven penmanship books include two by Daniel T. Plumer, one by Stephen Plumer, and four by unidentified individuals. The students practiced writing individual words and short, largely moral and practical statements. Examples include: "Circumspection," "Saratoga," "Cherokee," "Choctaw," "Empyrean," "Command respect by deportment," "Incumber not the mind with toys," "Sound the waters of science," "God made the world," and many others.
The cypher books include one by Horace Plumer and the others by unidentified individuals. The volumes include arithmetic, decimals and fractions, proportions, weights and measures, Federal and English money, currency exchange, mercantile word problems, copies of bills of exchange, alligation, and interest.
1 volume
The William Yardley Mathematics and Surveying Exercise Book contains solved geometric, trigonometric, and surveying exercises, including practical problems and illustrated examples that feature drawings of buildings, animals, and landscape elements. Calligraphic lettering appears throughout.
One letter written by Harry [Crockett?] to his mother, Mrs. L. F. Crockett, from Portland, Maine, on October 8, 1903, is laid into the volume. Written on John W. Perkins Company, Wholesale Druggists, illustrated stationery, the letter comments on family matters, business, and deaths of acquaintances, including one gentleman who was killed by an electric car.
1 volume
Margaret ("Peggy") Montgomery kept this copybook in 1809 to practice her penmanship. She copied religious and moral proverbs, poems, and passages, as well as short phrases, alphabets, and examples of financial receipts. The place name "Windham" appears throughout the volume, but no state is provided. At the back of the volume, from May to June 1838, Margaret Montgomery documented accusations that she had stolen teaspoons and detailed her interactions related to the matter. An undated medicinal recipe and directions for its use appear near the end of the volume for the treatment of an unspecified complaint.
0.25 linear feet
This collection contains 7 school notebooks used by members of the Gilbert and Rupley families of Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, to practice penmanship and mathematics. The collection also includes 7 pages of poetry, 1 cover sheet, and 14 loose pages from an account book.
Sally Gilbert began her 2 penmanship books on January 10 and February 24, 1813, and practiced her writing by copying brief proverbs, short poems, and examples of financial records, such as receipts. The second volume contains 2 longer poems, along with the penmanship exercises. The cover of each book bears a printed illustration, including a man falling off of a sitting horse ("How to Travel Upon Two Legs in a Frost") and a game of "Dutch Nine [Pi]ns."
George Rupley maintained 2 schoolbooks on arithmetic in 1828 and 1829, and copied problems involving compound addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, as well as problems involving fractions. His notebooks also include some penmanship exercises and poetry, as well as a child's drawing of a man outside a house.
Frederick A. Rupley's book (1831) concerns economic mathematics under the heading "Tare and Tret," and covers topics such as calculating interest and discounts. The book also contains some drawings of plants and includes 2 poems on its back page. Sarah Catharine Rupley's notebook (1840) addresses similar mathematical concepts, and contains sections on reduction, interest, compound interest, and vulgar fractions.
The final exercise book is undated and belonged to Rebecca Margaretta (or Margaret) Rupley in the early 19th century. Exercises consist of copied penmanship examples, often proverbs; Mary Ann Rupley's name also appears on its back page.
Of the collection's 7 loose pages of poetry, 1 is dedicated to Sally Gilbert (September 15, 1812), and 1 to Sarah Gilb[ert] from Henry Hoffman (September 2, 1814). One cover sheet is addressed to Henry Himmelrich of Germantown, Ohio. The collection includes a broadsheet: A New Song, Or, The Lamentable Death of Polly: Young Peopel [sic] Who Delight In Sin, I'll Tell You What Has Lately Been,--A Woman Who Was Young And Fair, Who Died In Sin And Sad Despair!
Approximately 14 pages from an account book (1813-1814) document sales of merchandise, including some accounts recording customers' payments. Though most customers paid in cash, at least one compensated for purchases by chopping wood. A woman named Betsy Gilbert was among the merchant's customers.
1 volume
The Isam Leonard Arithmetic Book includes mathematical rules, questions, practical examples, and solved exercises covering subtraction, multiplication, division, addition, reduction, fractions, decimals, the single rule of three direct, inverse and compound proportions, and simple interest. The volume includes calligraphic lettering and designs. One undated, unsigned pencil drawing of the "Old Mill at Iffley" is tipped into the volume. Colored, floral-patterned paper (wallpaper) is pasted onto the front and back covers.
1 volume
John Morison of Windham, New Hampshire, compiled this mathematical cypher book, containing extensive notes and practice problems on sailing, surveying, trigonometry, accounting, weights and measures, arithmetic, algebra, fractions, decimals, geometry, geodesia, and navigation. Many of the signatures are of different-size paper and stitched together using different thread. The final signature is upside down from the rest of the volume and contains penmanship practice, poetry, a song, scattered family names, miscellaneous figures, and drawings (including a windmill).