Manuscripts of Colonial and Revolutionary America

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections' Colonial/Revolutionary manuscript classification (MSN/COL) includes most manuscript groups originating, wholly or primarily, in North America before the year 1788. Materials originating in the Spanish colonies in North America are excluded; these may be found among the Spanish and Spanish Colonial collections. The great majority of the items in the Colonial/Revolutionary classification originated in the British colonies on the Atlantic seaboard of what is now the United States, or are American manuscripts of the Revolutionary and Confederation eras.

Manuscripts of Colonial and Revolutionary America contains series-level descriptions of the Department's processed holdings in this area. Individual series are typically distinguished by unity of provenance; consequently, the series described on this site vary greatly in size, from a single manuscript to close to one hundred.

In addition, Manuscripts of Colonial and Revolutionary America includes images and, in some instances, textual transcriptions of certain of the Department's Colonial manuscript series. Items thus far scanned include two record groups (from Massachusetts), comprising a total of about 150 records. These digital collections are enumerated in drop-down lists beneath the main headings in the menu. They may also be accessed from their series descriptions. The conventions used in transcribing these manuscripts are outlined under Technical Details.