Richard Pendlebury, ‘Mountaineering in 1872’. English, 1872

William Pearce, Notebook of College affairs. English, later eighteenth century

Probate of the will of Edward Henry Palmer. English, 1883

Two legal documents relating to the estate of Edward Henry Palmer, Fellow of St John’s College, following his murder in the Sinai in 1882: (i) Probate of Palmer’s will dated 29 Jan. 1883, extracted by Hardisty and Rhodes of Great Marlborough St London, 29 Jan. 1883; (ii) declaration of trusts of a sum of £6000, 8 Mar. 1883, paid out of public funds for the benefit of Palmer’s children, signed by the trustees Frederick Pollock, Walter Besant and Robert Wilson.

Edward Henry Palmer, Correspondence about copying his portrait. English, 1933

Correspondence between the Master of St John’s College, Sir Robert Forsyth Scott, the Senior Bursar, Sir Henry Howard, the Junior Bursar L[ewis] E[rle] Shore, the artist and W[illiam] H[enry] D[enham] Rowse, former Headmaster, re arrangements to copy the posthumous oil portrait by John Collier of Edward Henry Palmer (1840-82), Fellow of the College, to hang in the Perse School, Cambridge, 8 May – 27 Nov. 1933. The copy was made by H. W. G. Betteridge.

William Owen, Untitled verses. Latin, early nineteenth century

William Owen, Fellow of St John’s College (1792-1823): verses possibly addressed to the Master or President of the College, no date but apparently c. 1815 when Owen was elected a Fellow of the College. The name W. Owen at top right.

John Newcome, Verses addressed to Matthew Prior. English, 1719

John Newcome, Master of St John’s College (c. 1684-1765): verses addressed to his fellow Johnian Matthew Prior ‘at Wimpole [Hall, Cambridgeshire] from St John’s College Cambridge 14 November 1719’. A printed version of the verses, with certain alterations is found in Prior’s Miscellaneous works of His late Excellency Matthew Prior Esq. (London, 1740), pp. xl.

Paul Muldoon, ‘Why Brownlee Left’. English, 1986

Paul Muldoon (b. 1951): ‘Why Brownlee Left’, written out in this copy by the poet while Judith E. Wilson Visiting Fellow at Fitzwilliam College, 1986. With a related press cutting from the Sunday Times, 14 Dec. 1986. This poem was published in Why Brownlee Left (1980).

Christopher Middleton, Poems. English, 1963

Christopher Middleton (b. 1926): ‘Crossing’ and ‘Difficulties of a Revisionist’, fair copies written by the author. ‘Crossing’ is glossed with a note on how to read the poem, ‘so as to make the MS, at least, what you (don’t you? or is it bookseller’s talk only?) a (or an?) unicum’. [sic]

Peter Mason, Miscellaneous scholarly papers. English, Greek and Hebrew, nineteenth century

Notes on the Rothenstein portrait of Alfred Marshall. English, 1967