Through our digital collections, Vassar College Libraries aim to provide access to high-quality digital content generated by the Libraries for research and study, as open as possible; support the teaching, learning, and research needs of the College; preserve at-risk or fragile physical collections through digitization, or at-risk born-digital collections through reformatting; expose hidden, less-used physical collections through access to digital surrogates; and foster experimental, cutting-edge, and innovative projects through technology. Learn More
VC Class Year Unknown,1 letter, dated 17 Oct 1869, from "Julie" to Isabel Treadwell Towne (VC spec 1865-1866). "Julie" recounts her first five weeks at Vassar College. She criticizes her room, praises the campus grounds, and describes several of Towne's former classmates. "Julie" also mentions
1 letter, dated 26 Apr 1873, from "Katharine" to her mother. Katharine recounts the events of her first spring semester Vassar College. She describes her dormitory room as extremely small and crowded with furniture, leading her to ask VC Lady Principal Miss Terry about changing rooms. Katharine also
1 letter, dated 5 Mar 1870, from "Mary" to her mother. Mary describes her experiences at Vassar College, including needing permission from VC Lady Principal Hannah Lyman to go to Poughkeepsie, and attending a memorable lecture. She mentions an enclosed photograph of herself and some dentist
VC Class Year Unknown,1 letter, dated 5 Mar 1870, from "Mary" to her mother. Mary describes her experiences at Vassar College, including needing permission from VC Lady Principal Hannah Lyman to go to Poughkeepsie, and attending a memorable lecture. She mentions an enclosed photograph of herself and
1 letter, dated 24 Nov 1872, from "Mary" to her sister "Mollie." Mary describes a typical Sunday routine at Vassar College, beginning with Bible class and chapel. Mary explains that after dinner and while still dressed in their Sunday finery, the students would promenade in the park. She also
1 letter, dated 18 Jun 1876, from "Mary" to her mother "Mithery." In the letter, Mary reports recent events at Vassar College. She describes the excitement over the impending visit of an important guest to Vassar, a theatrical performance, the sermon of a visiting pastor, and the text of college
2 letters, dated 10 Nov and 15 Nov 1868, from "Nellie" to her mother and father. Nellie describes her favorable impressions of Vassar College. Citing her family's probable interest, Nellie details a lecture by Professor Farrar on the history of rifle manufacture, including two diagrams. She includes
3 Abstract figures; light, black shaded with four dark lines from bottom of figures,Condition assessment (2014): Good
3 borders painted orange; orange figure resembling a cross in the middle with an "X" across,Condition assessment (2014): Good
3 horizontal stripes lightly shaded; orange abstract figures all over,Condition assessment (2014): Good
3 thick lines; 2 are black and make an "x" and one is red and is going straight through the "X,Condition assessment (2014): Good
4 orchids surrounded by more vegetation,Condition assessment (2014): Good
5 vertical, zig zag, black lines going down paper; Green, black scribbles all around paper,Condition assessment (2014): Good
A bundle of lines, the middle of which are red and the rest black,Condition assessment (2014): Good
A deep purple bar with pink edges,Condition assessment (2014): Good
A drawing of a black square and black lines against red background,Condition assessment (2014): Good
A drawing of a smoothly zigzaging red line,Condition assessment (2014): Good
A drawing of what look like a tree and a mountain far back, both of which bear big black dots on them,Condition assessment (2014): Good
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 5,000 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.
