50th Anniversary
Pageant of Athena - Sappho
This collection includes more than 3,500 glass plate negatives created by photographer Edmund Wolven. Most of the images are of Vassar College people, events, buildings and grounds, but there is a subset that relates to other local educational institutions and Poughkeepsie. Wolven, born in Poughkeepsie in 1876, worked for many schools and colleges in the area. He began taking photos for Vassar College in the late 1890s, and became the official college photographer between approximately 1900 and 1910. The latest photographs in this collection are from the 1940s.
Content Warning
The Vassar College Archives within the Digital Library include some images, texts, and material items that are racist, xenophobic, or otherwise harmful. The Vassar Libraries have provided descriptive text and additional notes whenever possible to alert Digital Library users to these items. The Engaged Pluralism Initiative Race and Racism in Historical Collections Project Group is working with the library on contextualizing and facilitating community conversations about these materials. For more information see: https://library.vassar.edu/rrhc
Pageant of Athena - Sappho
Unidentified man walking toward the Chapel, most likely during the Fiftieth Anniversary
Exhibition of Physical Training
Pageant of Athena - Isabelle d'Este
Exhibition of Physical Training
Exhibition of Physical Training - running race
Exhibition of Physical Training - basketball game
Presidents Henry Noble MacCracken and James Monroe Taylor with Julia Lathrop (VC 1880), Mary Augusta Jordan (VC 1876), and Ellen Churchill Semple (VC 1882) on the steps of the east side of the chapel
Pageant of Athena - Isabelle d'Este
Presidents Henry Noble MacCracken and James M. Taylor with Julia Lathrop (VC 1880), Mary Augusta Jordan (VC 1876), Ellen Churchill Semple (VC 1882), and Louise Lawrence Meigs (VC 1891) on the steps of the chapel
Pageant of Athena - Hilda
Vassar president James Monroe Taylor on the walk on the east side of the chapel
Pageant of Athena - Marie de France
Pageant of Athena - Lady Jane Grey
Pageant of Athena - Hortensia
Pageant of Athena - Athena
Pageant of Athena - Athena
Pageant of Athena - Sappho
Pageant of Athena - Isabelle d'Este
Pageant of Athena - Sappho
Here you will find digitized archival collections, oral histories, and more. We are continually expanding the collections and improving access. You may find additional digital resources that reside outside the digital library here, and a selection of Online Exhibitions here.
Collections Overview
The Archives & Special Collections Library is part of the Vassar College Libraries system. It holds the rare book, manuscript, and archival collections of the college. It collects, preserves, and makes available rare and unique collections, and also engages in teaching and outreach activities. This collection of finding aids describe items in both the Virginia B. Smith Memorial Manuscript Collection and the College Archives.
The Vassar College herbarium holds over 8,000 specimens of vascular plants, bryophytes, and algae. Holdings are primarily from northeastern North America, and include collections made by several notable 19th century botanists. To learn more about this project visit the website here.
Vassar College's institutional repository reflects the research and scholarly output of the Vassar College community. It provides access to senior theses, peer reviewed open access articles, and projects from a wide range of disciplines.