Vassar College Digital Library
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Wolven Glass Plate Negative Collection: Founder's Day, 1900-1935

1300 plates

Founder's Day has included a variety of activities since the first celebration on April 29th,1866, Matthew Vassar's birthday. The images in this series document visits to the founder's grave, step-singing and the Song Contest, the faculty-student baseball game, parades, and various performances. Attendees of the baseball game, the parades, and the performances were encouraged to dress in costume, according to either a predetermined theme or individual whim. With some frequency, these costumes and performances were based on racist or stereotypical representations of marginalized groups, including blackface, redface, and yellowface. Similarly, the faculty play or skit show which was given on the evening of Founder's Day, included racist and stereotypical costumes and performances.

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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
 

Founder's Day

Image
94800-Service File.jpg
Date
1927-04-29
Description

Students in costume, two in stereotypical Native American dress, another in what might have been intended to represent Romani dress

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Founder's Day

Image
94965-Service File.jpg
Date
1925-05-01
Description

Students dressed as pirates at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
94111-Service File.jpg
Date
1926-04-30
Description

Class of 1929 at the song contest

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Founder's Day

Image
94680-Service File.jpg
Date
approximately 1932
Description

Professor Lucy Maynard Salmon's grave, Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery

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Founder's Day

Image
95376-Service File.jpg
Date
1920-04-30
Description

Song contest

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Founder's Day

Image
94713-Service File.jpg
Date
1924-05-02
Description

Song contest

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Founder's Day

Image
94880-Service File.jpg
Date
1928-04-27
Description

Dean C. Mildred and her dog at the faculty-student baseball game. A student dressed in stereotypical Indian costume is also pictured, and may be in dark makeup

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Founder's Day

Image
93907-Service File.jpg
Date
1915-1925
Description

Student throwing a ball at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
94567-Service File.jpg
Date
1929-04-26
Description

Spectators at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
94998-Service File.jpg
Date
1922-04-28
Description

Students at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
94801-Service File.jpg
Date
1927-04-29
Description

Students in costume

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Founder's Day

Image
94966-Service File.jpg
Date
1925-05-01
Description

Students dressed as pirates at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
94112-Service File.jpg
Date
1929-04-26
Description

Henry Noble MacCracken at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
94681-Service File.jpg
Date
1930-04-25
Description

Faculty team at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
95377-Service File.jpg
Date
1920-04-30
Description

Song contest

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Founder's Day

Image
94714-Service File.jpg
Date
1924-05-02
Description

Song contest

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Founder's Day

Image
94881-Service File.jpg
Date
1928-04-27
Description

Students in costume at the faculty-student baseball game. One is dressed in stereotypical Indian costume and may be in brownface. The other's costume may be meant to represent that of a Romani woman

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Founder's Day

Image
93910-Service File.jpg
Date
1924-05-02
Description

Students in costume at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
94568-Service File.jpg
Date
1929-04-26
Description

Spectators at the faculty-student baseball game

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Founder's Day

Image
94999-Service File.jpg
Date
1922-04-28
Description

Students in costume at the faculty-student baseball game

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