The personal library of Nathaniel Bowditch encompasses works on mathematics, astronomy, and navigation. Among the treasures of the collection are early editions by such scientific luminaries as Galileo, Newton, and LaPlace; numerous treatises on comets and sundials; long runs of scientific periodicals; and, of course, Bowditch's own manuscripts.

This unpublished copy of the 1678 manuscript contains a detailed summary of astronomy from a pre-Newtonian perspective. There are systematic descriptions of planets and stars, distance of planets to the earth, comets, hourly movements of the sun, solar equations, etc. The tables relate to refractions for every place at the horizon, movements of the moon, and other calculations. The plates contain illustrations to the text, one being the moon eclipse of February 13, 1710.

This volume was kept while Piggott was imprisoned by Napoleon at Fontainebleau. Subjects mentioned include astronomy, comets, and botanical gardens.

The amateur astronomer and scientific instrument maker John Dovaston was born into a long-established Shropshire family on April 25, 1740, the son of John Dovaston and Margaret (Rogers). While still in his twenties, Dovaston used the proceeds from his sugar plantations in Jamaica to build "The Nursery," an estate near West Felton, near Shrewsbury, where he lived until his death on April 4, 1808. Dovaston's astronomical notebook contains observations on the transits of Venus and Mercury, 1761-1799; the eclipse of the moon, July 1776; and the comet of August 1797; as well as more general notes on stellar positions, astronomical instruments, calendars, and the measurement of latitude and longitude. The volume is illustrated, and includes copies of two letters received from his fellow amateur astronomer, Waldron Hill. Dovaston's interest in astrology is suggested by his detailed notes on casting a horoscope ("The Manner of Erecting a scheme or figure of the Heavens"), as well as by the presence of nativities for his son (1782) and for William Dovaston (1765).

The manuscripts of father William Mitchell and daughter Maria Mitchell are not easily separated, and are treated here together. The collection includes William Mitchell's autobiography, his memoir of Judge Walter Folger of Nantucket, astronomical and meteorological observations, lectures, family and other correspondence.