In the hand of Franklin, "from a manuscript not yet printed."

Essay by British politician and capitalist. Complete title is "Free Parliaments, or, A vindication of the fundamental right of the Commons of England...to be sole judges of all those privileges of the electors and of the elected, which are absolutely necessary to preserve free parliaments and a free people..."

Copied from a pamphlet in duodecimo printed at Philadelphia and sold by Andrew Bradford, 1725.

In the hand of Benjamin Franklin, "from the manuscript. Translated from the High Dutch."

Palm-leaf book in Malay and Arabic.

Part I contains a series of definitions of the principles of physics. Part II includes chapters on the visible world, the earth, the senses, light, and meteorology.

A book of Cakchiquel sermons. Libro de sermones predicables en las fiestas mas principales de todo el año y de las de la orden de N.Serafico Pe San Francisco compuesto en lengua cakchiquel.

This volume includes prescriptions for various complaints, such as epilepsy, hemorrhoids, and ringworm.

This is a collection of Francis Hopkinson's prose writings, prepared by him for publication. These volumes are numbered 1-4 and 6. Volume 5, missing here, contains his verse.

Letter to "Rev'd Sir," Lonehead, January 6, 1777, concerning the religious aspects of following the King's command for a fast day: does this constitute prayers against the American troops?

These tributes were read at the American Philosophical Society on the centenary of Wistar's death. Included are tributes by Isaac M. Hays, "Caspar Wistar as a Citizen and Philosopher," and George A. Piersol, "Dr. Caspar Wistar as a Human Anatomist."

Charles Morton's "System of Physicks" was among the most important texts in natural philosophy in early America, used to teach science and the scientific method to students at both Harvard and Yale from the late 1680s through the 1720s. This fair copy was probably transcribed at one of those institutions in about 1700, and is a fairly complete accounting of Morton's best known work.

During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the American Philosophical Society regularly received letters, and occasionally full blown manuscripts, from members of the public regarding their ideas on science or technology. In 1829, Edward Mulhern of Philadelphia submitted a manuscript on terrestrial magnetism that he felt had implications for navigation. Little is known about Mulhern other than that he died before 1833. Mulhern's "Dissertation on the doctrine and principles of magnetism &" is an attempt to work through some fundamental issues in terrestrial magnetism, including the relative orientation and positions of the geographic and magnetic poles, with an eye toward their impact on navigation. The APS Minutes for April 15, 1833, read: "An application from Alex Mulhern to have returned to him a paper on the 'doctrine of Magnetism' laid before the society by his deceased father, was received and the Librarian was directed to return the same.'"

This essay discusses Priestley's experiments concerning phlogiston, also called "the principle of inflammability," which was once thought to be a volatile substance that was part of all combustible matter and was released as flame in combustion.

Books of hours were among the most common devotional texts of the Middle Ages. Produced throughout western Europe until the early 16th century, books of hours were important status items, often elaborately illuminated, that might be tailored to the specific tastes of well-heeled clients to reflect interests in particular saints or to incorporate other elements of their personal lives and religious, political, or social commitments. Although the specifics of its origin remain uncertain, the APS Book of Hours is organized in a fairly typical fashion. Beginning with a calendar specifying feast days and other holy days, the book includes readings from the gospels, prayers (Obsecro te, O Intemerata), the Hours of the Virgin, the Hours of the Cross, the seven penitential psalms (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129), the litanies and prayers, the office for the dead, and additional prayers devoted to Saints Barbara, Anthony, Margaret, and Sebastian. Each of the 22 sections begins with a full-page illustration, many with additional vignettes. An additional vignette of a figure of death is included in the office of the dead. The volume was donated to the APS by Detmar Basse-Müller in 1806.

Books of hours were among the most common devotional texts of the Middle Ages. Produced throughout western Europe until the early 16th century, books of hours were important status items, often elaborately illuminated, that might be tailored to the specific tastes of well-heeled clients to reflect interests in particular saints or to incorporate other elements of their personal lives and religious, political, or social commitments. Although the illuminated pages have been removed from this book of hours, the gift of Timothy Matlack in 1811, it remains an elegant and ornate manuscript, with initials and line fillers in prominent gilt, red, and blue. Only one page remains from the calendar (the last), however many of the major elements of the book can be identified, including the prayers to the Virgin, the Stabat Mater Dolorosa and stations of the cross, the penitential psalms, litanies, and prayers, and the office of the dead.

In a letter to the Librarian of the American Philosophical Society in 1901, Henry Charles Lea noted that a manuscript of this work was known to the compiler of "Biblioteca nova scriptorium Hispaniae," but no printed edition was known.

Opinions delivered before the Law Academy of Philadelphia by the provost and vice provost. The opinions are signed by Peter S. Du Ponceau as provost.