Table of Contents
- Collection Summary
- Historical Note
- Scope and Content Note
- Subject Headings
- Related Material
- Administrative Information
- Access and Use
- Encoding Information
- Container List
Collection Summary
| Repository: | Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries |
|---|---|
| Creator: | Vassar College |
| Title: | Vassar College Founder's Day Records |
| Dates: | 1866-2008 |
| Quantity: | 2 cubic feet (5 boxes) |
| Abstract: | Programs, invitations, songs, sheet music, play scripts, committee records, and other materials related to Vassar College's Founder's Day tradition. |
Historical Note
Begun on April 29, 1866, as a birthday celebration for Matthew Vassar, Founder's Day is a Vassar College tradition that has evolved over the decades. After Vassar's death in 1868, the day became a more somber event and an occaision to remember his life and contributions. Over the years the day would incorperate guest speakers on various topics, dances, and other activities. By the time Henry Noble MacCracken became president in 1915, Founder's day would often revolved around a particular theme and include student and faculty plays. The event's popularity came and went over the 20th century, with several lapses in celebration followed by revivals. It remains a significant Spring event on campus, officially celebrated on the closest Friday to April 29th.
TopScope and Content Note
The collection consists of programs, invitations, songs, sheet music, play scripts, committee records, and other materials related to Vassar College's Founder's Day tradition.
TopAccess and Use
Access
This collection is open for research according to the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library without any additional restrictions.
Restrictions on Use
Permission to quote (publish) from unpublished or previously published material must be obtained as described in the regulations of the Vassar College Archives and Special Collections Library .
Subject Headings
Names:
- Vassar, Matthew, 1792-1868
Organizations:
- Vassar College--Students
- Vassar College. Founder's Day Committee
Subjects:
- Women's colleges--New York (State)--Poughkeepsie
Document Types:
- Correspondence
- Photographs
- Printed Ephemera
- Reports
- Scrapbooks
- Scripts (documents)
- Sheet music
VCL Categories:
- Vassar College Events and Issues
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Vassar College Founder's Day Records, Archives and Special Collections Library, Vassar College Libraries.
Processing Information
Processed by Emma Gronbeck, January 2024.
Acquisition Information
An artificial collection assembled from materials separated from the Vassar College Subject Files and previously cataloged materials.
Gift of various donors.
Container List
| Calendars | |
| Folder 1.1 | 1934, 1943-1944 |
| Folder 1.2 | 1950-1952 |
| Correspondence and Planning Files | |
| Folder 3.13 | 2007-2008 |
| Faculty Follies | |
| Folder 3.1 | "Pardoner's Tale," script, drafts, 1917 |
| Folder 1.3 | "Clan Night," script and songs, 1939 |
| Folder 1.4 | "Let's Sing," script and songs, 1940 |
| Folder 1.5 | "Life at Vassar for Picalilly Belle," script, 1944 |
| Folder 1.6 | "Residence Meeting: A Tragedy," script, 1944 |
| Folder 3.2 | "Her," script and songs, 1945 |
| Folder 1.7 | "Life Begins at 65," script and songs, 1946 |
| Folder 1.8 | "De Profundis," script, 1948 |
| Folder 1.9 | "Vulgarities of 1953," script, 1953 |
| Folder 1.10 | "Turn Off the Grass, the Instant Boys Are Here!" outline, 1955 |
| Folder 1.11 | "From Peer to Maternity," script, 1957 |
| Folder 1.12 | "You Are Here," script, 1959 |
| Folder 1.13 | "Our Historic Birthplace," script and lyrics, 1968 |
| Folder 3.3 | "Participatory Transition," script, 1969 |
| Folder 1.14 | "Way Back," script, 1975 |
| Folder 1.15 | "That's the Spirit," script, 1977 |
| Folder 1.16 | "Let's Admit It!" script, 1980 |
| Folder 1.17 | "Forty-Eight Ninety-One," script and slides, 1984 |
| Folder 1.18 | "Matt to the Future," script and slides, 1988 |
| Folder 1.19 | "Happy Birthday, Matt," script, 1992 |
| Folder 1.20 | "Art Lecture," script, undated |
| Founder's Day Committee | |
| Folder 1.21 | Records, 1903-1904 |
| Folder 1.22 | Records, 1905-1906 |
| Folder 1.23 | Reports, 1907 |
| Folder 1.24 | Reports, 1908 |
| Folder 1.25 | Reports and correspondence, 1909 |
| Folder 1.26 | Reports and correspondence, 1910 |
| Folder 1.27 | Records, 1911 |
| Folder 1.28 | Meeting minutes, 1916 |
| Folder 1.29 | Records, 1916 |
| Folder 1.30 | Reports and correspondence, 1916 |
| Folder 1.31 | Records and reports, 1917 |
| Folder 1.32 | Financial records, 1919 |
| Folder 1.33 | Reports, 1920 |
| Folder 1.34 | Reports, 1922 |
| Folder 1.35 | Reports, 1926 |
| Folder 1.36 | Reports, 1927 |
| Folder 1.37 | Reports, 1928 |
| Folder 1.38 | Reports, 1929 |
| Folder 1.39 | Reports, 1930 |
| Folder 1.40 | Reports, 1932 |
| Folder 1.41 | Reports, 1933 |
| Folder 1.42 | Records and reports, 1935-1937 |
| Folder 1.43 | Reports, 1938 |
| Folder 1.44 | Reports, 1939 |
| Folder 1.45 | Reports, 1940 |
| Folder 1.46 | Reports, 1941 |
| Folder 1.47 | Reports, 1942-1943 |
| Folder 1.48 | Reports, 1944 |
| Folder 1.49 | Reports, 1945 |
| Folder 1.50 | Reports, 1946 |
| Folder 1.51 | Reports, 1947 |
| Folder 1.52 | Reports, 1948 |
| Folder 1.53 | Reports, 1949 |
| Folder 1.54 | Reports, 1950 |
| Invitations | |
| Folder 1.55 | 1867-1870 |
| Folder 1.56 | 1872-1874 |
| Folder 1.57 | 1881, 1884-1885 |
| Folder 1.58 | 1890, 1893-1895 |
| Folder 1.59 | 1896-1900 |
| Folder 1.60 | 1901-1909 |
| Folder 1.61 | 1917 |
| Pamphlets | |
| Folder 1.62 | "Eulogy on Matthew Vassar, pronounced by Miss M. W. Whitney," 1869 |
| Folder 1.63 | "Hill-Top Idyl," 1868 |
| Parody Newspapers | |
| Folder 5.1 (Oversize) | 1920-1940s |
| Plays and Songs | |
| Folder 1.64 | 1867 |
| Folder 1.65 | 1929-1930 |
| Folder 3.4 | 1939 |
| Folder 1.66 | 1942-1943 |
| Folder 3.5 | 1944 |
| Folder 3.6 | 1947-1949 |
| Folder 3.7 | 1950-1954 |
| Folder 3.8 | 1956-1958 |
| Folder 1.67 | undated |
| Programs | |
| Folder 1.68 | 1866-1867 |
| Folder 1.69 | 1868-1870 [2 copies each] |
| Folder 1.70 | 1871-1875 [2 copies each] |
| 1876 [no copies] | |
| Folder 1.71 | 1877-1880 |
| Folder 1.72 | 1881-1884 |
| Folder 1.73 | 1885 [1 copy] |
| Folder 1.74 | 1886 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.75 | 1887 [3 copies] |
| Folder 1.76 | 1888 [1 copy] |
| Folder 1.77 | 1889 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.78 | 1890 [3 copies] |
| Folder 1.79 | 1891 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.80 | 1892 [3 copies] |
| Folder 1.81 | 1893 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.82 | 1894 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.83 | 1895 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.84 | 1896 [1 copy] |
| Folder 1.85 | 1897 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.86 | 1898 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.87 | 1899 [2 copies] |
| Folder 1.88 | 1900 [1 copy] |
| Folder 1.89 | 1901 [2 copies] |
| 1902 [no copies] | |
| Folder 1.90 | 1903 [1 copy] |
| Folder 1.91 | 1904 |
| 1905 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.1 | 1906 [2 copies] |
| Folder 2.2 | 1907 [2 copies] |
| Folder 2.3 | 1908 |
| Folder 2.4 | 1909 [2 copies] |
| 1910 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.5 | 1911 [3 copies] |
| Folder 2.6 | 1912 [3 copies] |
| Folder 2.7 | 1913 [3 copies] |
| Folder 2.8 | 1914 [3 copies] |
| Folder 2.9 | 1915 [3 copies each] |
| Folder 2.10 | Shakespeare-Cervantes Tercentenary, 1916 [3 copies] |
| Folder 3.9 | 1917 [3 copies] |
| Folder 2.11 | 1918 [3 copies] |
| Folder 2.12 | Walt Whitman Centenary, 1919 [3 copies] |
| Folder 2.13 | 1920-1923 [2 copies each] |
| Folder 5.2 (Oversize) | 1924 |
| Folder 2.14 | 1924-1928 |
| Folder 2.15 | 1929-1932 |
| Folder 5.3 (Oversize) | 1933 |
| 1934 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.16 | 1935-1942 |
| Folder 2.17 | 1946-1949 |
| 1950-1953 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.18 | 1954 [2 copies] |
| 1955-1960 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.19 | 1961 [1 copy] |
| 1962-1974 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.20 | 1975 [1 copy] |
| 1976-1979 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.21 | 1980 [1 copy] |
| Folder 2.22 | 1981 [1 copy] |
| 1982-1984 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.23 | 1985 [1 copy] |
| Folder 2.24 | 1986 [1 copy] |
| 1987 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.25 | 1988-1989 [1 copy each] |
| 1990-1991 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.26 | 1992-1993 [1 copy each] |
| 1994-1995 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.27 | 1996 [1 copy] |
| 1997 [no copies] | |
| Folder 2.28 | 1998-2001 [1 copy each] |
| Scrapbooks | |
| Box 4 | Scrapbook by Margaret (Chambers) Halsey (VC 1911), 1911 |
| Sheet Music | |
| Folder 5.4 (Oversize) | Unidentified, 1937 |
| Folder 5.5 (Oversize) | "Life Begins at 65," 1946 |
| Folder 3.10 | Vassar College Songs, 1949 |
| Student Association | |
| Folder 3.11 | Founder's day dance announcement, 1901 Apr 15 |
| Folder 3.12 | Founder's Day date decision, 1878 Mar 7 |
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Details
Programs, invitations, songs, sheet music, play scripts, committee records, and other materials related to Vassar College's Founder's Day tradition.
