Autograph, unsigned commonplace book of John Hancock (1671-1752) containing notes for sermons and excerpts from essays and the Bible.
Bound in contemporary American calf. 225 leaves.
The printed booklabel of Hancock, dated 1687, is pasted onto the inside front cover of the volume. In addition, 'Property of Nathan G. Snelling from his friend AD 1824' has been written in red ink on the inside front cover of the volume.
The gift of Winslow Lewis, M. D. of Boston (Class of 1819). Donated on 12 May 1862.
Hannah Yip
This manuscript is cited in Winifred Herget, ‘Writing after the Ministers: The Significance of Sermon Notes’, in Studies in New England Puritanism, ed. by Winifred Herget (Frankfurt am Main: Verlag Peter Lang, 1983), pp. 113-138; Theodore R. Delwiche, 'The Schoolboy's Quill: Joseph Belcher and Latin Learning at Harvard College, c. 1700', History of Universities, 33.1 (2020), 69-104 (p. 98).