As a junior and senior at Princeton in 1857-1858, John Howard Wurts was enrolled in the two semester sequence of courses on natural philosophy taught by the astronomer Stephen Alexander. The polished version of Wurts' lecture notes provide a detailed record of Alexander's presentation of both statics and the applications of statics, including thebasic principles of natural philosophy, the physical properties of matter, forces, and methodology. The notes are illustrated throughout with finely rendered pencil and ink drawings of physical apparatus and experiments.

Notes kept by the Yale undergraduate John Austin Stevens on 20 lectures on natural philosophy delivered by Jeremiah Day during the fall, 1812. Includes lectures on gravitation, mechanics, and hydrostatics (hydrology), the last including theories of rivers, springs, and groundwater.