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The Charles Nisbet lectures consist of four volumes of notes taken by Nisbet's students. Charles Nisbet was the first president of Dickinson College at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His lectures cover a range of topics, including logic, natural and moral philosophy, theology, and classical studies.

The Charles Nisbet lectures are comprised of four bound volumes of notes taken by students of Nisbet's at Dickinson College between 1789 and 1793. Nisbet read his lectures slowly, expecting students to take verbatim accounts, and a close comparison of notes taken at his lectures on the history of philosophy in December, 1792, shows that they were able to keep the pace. The four volumes are:

1. Anonymous notes, beginning 1789 August 1, 577 pp. This book is organized in three sections: first, a sixteen-lecture series on classical education and classical authors, 140 pp.; second, a contents list for the first 94 pages of (third) the following 320 pages, an unbroken passage entitled "Criticism." The spine of the binding bears a red leather label, "Criticism."

2. Anonymous, undated, untitled. 328 pp., lacking pp. 1-6.

3. Alexander Nisbet (1777-1857), 1792 December 14-1793. 240 pp. Sixty lectures on the history of philosophy. Alexander was the son of the lecturer.

4. Elias W. Hale. "Lectures on criticism," 1792 September-1793. 657 pp. The lectures beginning on page 400 are identical to those of Alexander Nisbet for the same dates.

The Helen Zell Writers' Program was established in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan in 1982 as the Zell Visiting Writers' Series within the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program. The program hosts poets and fiction writers to the University of Michigan campus every year. The program changed its name from the Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Program to Helen Zell Writers' Program in 2013. The records contain audiocassettes and videotapes (VHS) for the Zell Visiting Writers' Series from Fall 1999 to Winter 2003, and digital videos (MiniDV) for Master of Fine Arts Program Alumni readings from 2002. Additional files containing correspondence, photographs, and publicity materials for the Zell Visiting Writers' Series are also included.

Audio and video recordings of the Zell Visiting Writers' Series from Fall 1999 to Winter 2003, and digital videos (MiniDV) for Master of Fine Arts Program Alumni readings from 2002. Also correspondence, photographs, and publicity materials for the Zell Visiting Writers' Series.

The George and José Bill papers contain essays, lectures, notes, prescriptions, and correspondence related to the medical practices of George Bill and his son, José Penteado Bill, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Much of the material relates to unconventional medical practices and to topics in metaphysics. The collection also holds a series of astrological charts and notes.

The George and José Bill papers contain essays, lectures, notes, prescriptions, and correspondence related to the medical practices of George Bill and his son José Penteado Bill, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Correspondence and Documents series holds material related to George E. Bill's medical practice, including several letters written to his son during the 1920s. In one letter, he encouraged his son to avoid surgery for his granddaughter Audrey, and instead offered a dietary cure (February 1, 1922); in other letters, he discussed a "rhythometer" and the use of electricity as a medical cure.

The Essays, Lectures, Notes, and Speeches series is divided into several subseries. An unknown author compiled the Miss Doubleday gynecology notes while attending a lecture by Miss Doubleday; the notes include diagrams.

The Lectures on metaphysics consist of 13 lectures delivered by George Bill between November 2 and December 16, 1912, predicated upon a Law of Correspondence, "a General Law underlying the behavior of all Matter and the Spirit of Matter" (November 7, 1912). He mentioned magnetism, toxins thought to affect thoughts, and the polarity between elements of life (light, heat, and electricity) and death (darkness, cold, and magnetism), between which existence resides (November 6, 1912).

A series of Astrology charts and notes contains several charts copied from the work of Karl Anderson, as well as manuscript essays and projections.

Additional Essays, Lectures, Notes and Speeches concentrate primarily on medical topics, and most often concern pseudo-scientific conjectures and treatments outside the realm of conventional medicine. The series contains published articles as well as typed and manuscript drafts; some topics are hypnotism, the medical uses of electrical current, the human subconscious and its role in medicine, infrared therapy, and mental toxins and antitoxins.

A large number of Retained copies of prescriptions showcase a variety of medical treatments ordered by the Bills throughout the late-19th and early-20th century, including both conventional and homeopathic treatments.

The José Penteado Bill papers contain an assortment of material, including, but not limited to, scientific and medical notes, as well as a printed roster of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association (July 1947). Other items are a traveling journal compiled in 1917 and a document giving Bill's grades from his second year of study at Harvard Medical School (1912). The Diaries subseries includes a partially-filled diary of José P. Bill from 1910, as well as a 1924 diary chronicling medical appointments; the latter was obtained in France and contains supplemental information in French. The Notes and notebooks subseries contains notes on José Penteado's engagements, patients, and prescriptions. Also included is a prescription notebook and pad.

The Printed Items series holds seven items. These are Keeley's Secrets, a publication on theosophy written by Mrs. Bloomfield Moore, with manuscript annotations (July 10, 1888); two medical journals; a scientific article; a pamphlet entitled "The Policy and Purpose of the Harrisburg Republican Club" (1902); a portion of an examination given to doctors at Clark University about "Diseases and Cures in Childhood" (December 1896); and a card on medicines, poisons, and antidotes. George Bill wrote the article, "The Relation of Hypnotism to the Subconscious Mind" (New York Medical Journal, May 1, 1897), an article entitled "Some Considerations Relative to the Therapeutic Application of the Electrical Current" (New York Medical Journal, November 13, 1897), and "The Conductivity of Human Radio-Activity" (Journal of the Allied Medical Associations of America, August 1919).

The Poems and Blank Stationery series contains pieces of blank stationery from Dr. George E. Bill's office in Harrisburg, PA, as well as two poems.

The Henry Yates Thompson papers contain the letters, diaries, and lectures of Thompson, an Englishman who visited the United States in 1863 and witnessed several battles in the Chattanooga Campaign, while making observations on politics, slavery, and education.

The Henry Yates Thompson papers contain 38 letters, 6 diaries, 4 documents, 2 maps, and 43 printed items (including newspaper clippings), spanning 1863-1928.

The Correspondence series covers 1863-1918, with bulk centering around 1863-1866. Thompson wrote the vast majority of letters home to his parents and siblings, while he traveled the United States and Canada; he filled his correspondence with thoughtful observations on slavery, the Civil War, women's education, and comparisons between England and the United States. On July 29, 1863, he noted the objections to the military draft by "copperheads" in New Hampshire and commented unfavorably on them. In late summer, he remarked about the Canadian support for the Confederacy (August 7, 1863); the growth of slavery, which he believed had been slowed by objections from the North (August 15, 1863); meeting abolitionist Samuel J. May (September 1, 1863); and the "marks of quiet industry" that he saw in free African Americans in the North. On September 29, 1863, he wrote a long, detailed letter about a visit to a "colored camp" in Baltimore, in which escaped slaves trained and drilled in front of Yankee officers. He also recorded the comments of several slave owners, who discussed the escape of slaves and expressed doubt that slaves would fight. In several letters, dated November 23 and December 3, 1863, Thompson described several battles in the Chattanooga Campaign at the side of Ulysses S. Grant. He wrote about the intensity of firing, expressed horror at the injuries and deaths he saw, and gave his impressions of Grant. Thompson also wrote about slaughterhouses in Chicago and the benefits of co-education to women (October 16, 1863), a journey to the Isles of Shoals (September 12, 1863), and the people he met in Keene, New Hampshire (July 23, 1863).

The letters postdating 1863 document Thompson's failed attempts to establish a lectureship on American history at Cambridge in 1865. On May 16, 1907, he declined a revival of the idea by Cambridge, citing possible objections from Harvard and the diminishing need for such an academic collaboration.

The Diaries series contains four volumes, which cover July-December 1863, with overlap in periods and events covered between volumes. As in his letters, Thompson wrote frankly about slavery and abolition, American politics, education, and various places that he visited. He also enclosed letters and ephemera related to these, such as tickets, pamphlets, advertisements, and clippings, which remain with the volumes. In Volume I (July 10-November 3, 1863), Thompson discussed the circumstances of Lincoln's election (pp. 3-4), a visit to Niagara Falls (p. 45), and the National Bank system (p. 53). Volume II (September 13-November 13, 1863) contains another account of the Battles for Chattanooga (pp. 22-31), and discussion of slavery and both sides of the conflict. Volume III (September 25-November 26, 1863) describes travels through Missouri with a German friend, and also covers the Battle of Chattanooga, but more briefly and informally. It may have served as a field notebook. Volume IV (November 15-December 15, 1863) contains further discussion of the Chattanooga Campaign and the war, as well as a description of people that Thompson encountered during his travels to Brooklyn, New York.

The Lecture Notebooks series contains two items: a rough draft and an apparent final draft of a speech on the Battles for Chattanooga, given by Thompson at Harrow School on March 7, 1865. The lecture gives a very detailed description of many aspects of the battle, including troop movements, casualties, supplies, and the role of the United States Sanitary Commission.

The Documents series contains an 1862 "Requisition for Forage" for the Confederacy, and essays entitled "Then and Now at the University of Cambridge" (1918) and "The American Lectureship" (n.d.).

The Maps series contains just one item: a manuscript map illustrating the geography and positions of troops at Chattanooga on November 23, 1863.

The Printed Materials series, spanning 1865-1941, primarily contains printed materials related to Thompson's proposed lectureship on American history at Cambridge. Also included are several obituaries for Thompson, and a book by Christopher Chancellor, Thompson's great-nephew, containing excerpts from the diaries and letters. Published in 1971, the book is entitled, An Englishman in the American Civil War: The Diaries of Henry Yates Thompson, and is housed in the Clements Library's Book Division.

This collection consists of two volumes of lecture notes that James B. Gibbs compiled while he was a resident student at Yale Divinity School in 1846. The lectures, delivered by Yale professors Nathaniel W. Taylor, Chauncey Allen Goodrich, and J. Gibbs, concern a range of theological and philosophical topics, including the history and practices of Christianity, information about other religions, and contemporary philosophical thought regarding ethics and government.

This collection consists of two volumes of lecture notes that James B. Gibbs compiled while he was a resident student at Yale Divinity School in 1846. The first volume contains approximately 520 pages of lectures on moral philosophy, natural theology, moral government, and evidences of Christianity. The second volume contains approximately 400 pages of Nathaniel W. Taylor's lectures on Revealed Theology, lectures by Professor J. Gibbs on Christianity and other world religions, lists of different kinds of materials within the Bible, and Chauncey Allen Goodrich's lectures on the duties of clergy and on religious missions.

Volume 1 (approximately 520 pages) concerns studies in both religion and philosophy. The first 262 pages are devoted to "Mental Philosophy," a series of essays or lectures on numerous topics about ethics and philosophy. Following are 25 pages on "Moral Philosophy," a brief course on philosophical principles that relate to theological studies. A discussion of moral government begins on the 26th page. The author often refers to the work of famous philosophers, including John Locke and David Hume. Further discussion of natural theology opens on page 74, with 20 lectures by Professor Taylor covering the next 100 pages. Pages 181 to 263 are devoted to "Evidences of Christianity," including answers to several anticipated objections. The volume has an index.

Volume 2 (approximately 400 pages) begins with 268 pages of lectures by Professor Nathaniel W. Taylor. The series, entitled "Revealed Theology," covers a diverse array of religious topics, including the history and intricacies of numerous Christian doctrines. These are followed by 21 lectures (43 pages) delivered by Professor J. Gibbs concerning theological study, including an outline of topics in theology and of its various branches. The first lectures concentrate on defining relevant terms, followed by several lectures on non-Christian religions, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Other material pertains to the practice of studying theology, and addresses topics such as the history of canonical Christian texts and the differences and similarities between the stories within the four Christian Gospels.

Following these lectures are 71 pages of supplementary lists and other material about the Bible and about non-Christian religions. Lists concern several specific topics about Christianity, such as events in the Bible, symbolism used in apocalyptic visions, and comments on outside theologians. The next 31 pages cover Professor Chauncey Allen Goodrich's lectures on Christian revivals, including the history of revivals and the philosophy behind them. The final sections, also delivered initially by Goodrich, concern the duties of "Pastoral Office," including information on some distinctions between certain Christian denominations and on running a congregation (25 pages), and discuss Christian missionary work (3 pages).

The front pages of this volume contain a brief note about Professor Nathaniel W. Taylor's death (March 15, 1858) and a portrait of Taylor. The final pages are an index to Taylor's lectures on revealed theology.

This collection is made up of autobiographical manuscripts, correspondence, documents, and family photograph albums related to James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of the items pertain to Pond's service during the Civil War and both father and son's lecture business.

This collection is made up of autobiographical manuscripts, correspondence, documents, and family photograph albums related to James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of the items pertain to Pond Sr.'s service during the Civil War and both father and son's lecture business.

The Pond Family Papers series includes one box containing miscellaneous correspondence ranging in date from 1896-1932, Civil War related material, autobiographical sketches, family photographs, and personal photograph albums.

The Civil War related material includes a few items relating to James Pond's Civil War service in the 3rd Wisconsin Cavalry, among which are a typescript of official reports relating to the massacre at Baxter Springs, Kansas, a printed poem on the massacre, and a printed notice of the death in the 1880s of William T. Brayton of the 3rd Cavalry. Pond also collected other reminiscences of the war, including an autobiographical account of Mrs. Horn, wife of a Missouri surgeon, which includes a description of Quantrill's raiders pillaging town and taking her husband prisoner, and a memoir of Edward P. Bridgman, a soldier in the 37th Massachusetts Infantry who served with John Brown in 1856, and may have known Pond.

More than half of this series consists of autobiographical manuscripts, parts of which, at least, were published as magazine articles. Most of these focus on his early years (prior to 1861) when he and his family were living a marginal existence in frontier Wisconsin and when he was a young man in search of a livelihood. The collection includes three major manuscripts, each present in several copies or versions, all of which are related to each other - "A Pioneer Boyhood," "The American Pioneer: My Life as a Boy," and "Pioneer Days" - plus there are less polished manuscripts of childhood and Civil War reminiscences. All appear to have been written initially in 1890, though some copies were apparently made several years later. In addition, there is an autobiographical sketch "How I got started in the Lecture Business" in which he describes his part in Anna Eliza Young's "apostatizing" and entering onto the lecture circuit.

The collection also contains 5 photograph albums. These volumes contain over 800 personal photographs taken between 1896 and 1902, including many pictures of family members at leisure both indoors and outdoors and Pond's business acquaintances from his lecture agency. Travel photographs include views of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, as well as a group of pictures taken during a visit to England, Switzerland, and Germany in 1901. European items include a series of colored prints, located in Volume 4. The albums contain images of locomotives, railroad cars, and steamships. Volume 1 contains images of the inauguration of William McKinley and Volume 2 contains images of crowds gathered for a GAR parade in Buffalo, New York. Throughout the albums are glimpses of various lecture tours and clients including John Watson (Ian Maclaren) and Anthony Hope in Volume 2 and Francis Marion Crawford in Volume 3. Other notable figures include Sam Walter Foss and William Dean Howells in Volume 1, Charles W. Blair and Edward William Bok in Volume 3, and Sir Henry Morton Stanley, Charles William Stubbs, Robert Stawell Ball, Horace Porter, Frank Thomas Bullen, and Israel Zangwill in Volume 4. In addition to the albums, there are loose photographs of family, James B. Pond Jr., and the Adventurers' Club of New York. Oversized photographs are housed in Box 3.

The Pond Lecture Bureau Papers series consists of one box containing client files (arranged chronologically), loose photographs, and ephemera. Much of the content consists of correspondence between clients/prospective clients and photographs of clients (likely for promotional material). This series spans from 1877 to the 1940s covering periods of ownership from both James B. Pond, Sr. and Jr. Some of these clients are as follows: Henry Ward Beecher, Reverend Joseph Parker, Thomas DeWitt Talmage, Leon Pierre Blouet, Reverend John Watson (Ian Maclaren), William Winter, Edward Rickenbacker, Harry A. Franck, Gunnar Horn, Maurice Brown, and Major Radclyffe Dugmore. Unidentified oversized photographs and a scrapbook are housed in Box 3.