Dartmouth Night Greetings

It is the Friday of Homecoming weekend, known locally as Dartmouth Night. There are plenty of alumni around (in fact members of the Class of 1957 are assembled in one of our classrooms as I write hearing a presentation by the College Archivist), and the bonfire will be set ablaze in a few hours. Before the Dartmouth diaspora could follow the events on social media, those unable to come to campus would often send telegrams to be read out to the crowd.

We have a batch of over one hundred telegrams from 1955-1959. The Dartmouth Club of New Jersey sounded like cold warriors by congratulating Dartmouth for its "exemplary leadership among liberal arts colleges in a free world." While in western Oklahoma the focus was on beating Harvard the next day. In Omaha, the mood was far more serious:

"We join with Dartmouth men everywhere to reaffirm our common faiths and beliefs in the principles that have mad Dartmouth the greatest of all liberal arts colleges. All Dartmouth men are entrusted with many heritages and traditions, as well as responsibilities and privileges. We are counting on you to learn well, and apply yourself diligently, that you may add to, perpetuate, and honor the glory that is Dartmouth's. God be with you tonight, tomorrow, and always."

A handful of students who happened to be in Leningrad that evening on a university exchange program chose a simple, "Vodka toast to team for victorious year."

You can see the whole batch by asking for MS 9559490.3

The Old Pine

The Old Pine with Bartlett Tower

For homecoming this week we brought out one of the most ungainly objects in the collection: our sizable fragment of the "Old Pine." If you check out our Instagram, you can see the it in the reading room alongside the staff members who moved it (though they are only inches taller). We also have smaller artifacts carved from other bits of the Old Pine, but this one really stands out.

There is a handwritten label on the chunk 'o pine that gives a little history of the tree: it was struck by lightning in 1887 and split so only a portion was left standing. The remaining half was done in a few years later, in 1892, by a "tornado." The Dartmouth called the storm "a heavy gale," so there may be a bit of hyperbole in the tag.

We expected to see some angst in The Dartmouth over the tree's demise, especially considering the trouble people took to keep fragments of it, but the report was not only unsentimental, it was downright disrespectful to Dartmouth's old trees:

The heavy gale of June 14, which destroyed and damaged many of the shade trees here, called attention to the fact that there are a number of large trees about our campus, venerable with age; but owning to repeated disaster, no longer ornamental. These trees, we think, should be removed at an early date, and new trees set out in their places. The usefulness of the old is past, and the new should be immediately given a chance to develop itself into fit companionship of the other noble trees about the green.

I wonder what they thought of some of the older faculty and the seniors about to graduate!

You can see the Old Pine in the reading room for another week, then we will lug it back upstairs.

What makes you happy?

A box of Belgian chocolate, a glass of wine at the end of a long day, beautiful weather... the list goes on. Henry Monnier, a French playwright, caricaturist and actor in the 19th century, compiled his lithographic prints into a monograph titled Les Petites Felicites Humaines, depicting various aspects of life that bring joy to humans. Each lithographic plate is attached to a small piece of paper to bind the book. According to Monnier, what makes us happy differs, depending on how old we are.

When you are a little baby, toys, candies and putting on pants are all you need to be happy.

Once you become a young adult, happiness becomes something more dynamic and interactive as it involves other people. A wild mistress, along with love songs, makes a youngster happy, as well as outspoken and honest friends would. Young folks don't abide by the established rules and wisdom, nor do they waste their time mulling over their future and wealth. Monnier notes that as a young man, he was so carefree and cheerful that he had enough energy to climb up the wall of a building, all the way to the sixth floor!

As time passes, restless spirit and vigor fade away and are replaced by more practical values. Bonuses, beautiful courtyards and house interior decorations will make you content in the middle ages.

When you become even older, nothing makes you more blissful than your family. Family holidays, dinners and little children will brighten up your day.

As a resident of Hanover, NH, what struck me the most was this last plate with an illustration of a several men gathered around a heater. What else can bring more bliss to your life than resting beside a warm heater on a cold day?

You can look at the lithographic plates yourself by asking for Rare Book PQ 2366 .M42 P43.

Minority Rules

Usually voting means that the majority rules, but not always. Sometimes organizations operate on consensus, meaning that everyone agrees on something before it moves forward. It sounds so nice and friendly in theory, but in practice it has often been used to exclude. One person's strident opinion can override the will of the rest.

This ballot box that was once used by the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity was the mechanism for assuring unanimous consent at the fraternity. New members were elected through a secret ballot using a specially designed box. On one side were black and white marbles, with a small hole connecting to the other side. Each member of the fraternity would place his hand in the box, select a white or black marble, and push it through to the other side. When the voting was complete, the members opened the other side of the box. If all the marbles were white, the new member was accepted, but, if there was a single black ball, the member was rejected. Ironically, this system where a minority could veto the majority was part of a system of institutionalized racism that could easily exclude any member because of his race or religion.

One racist in the crowd was all it took.

This system was phased out in the 1950s and 1960s as the Dartmouth fraternity system worked to end the practice of blackballing prospective members based on race or religion.

To see the ballot box, ask for DO-37, Box 13146. It is cool and frightening at the same time.

Roy J. Snell

Scanning the shelves of the Rare Book collections you see lots of authors you know and revere along with noted titles in first editions. It all drips of fame and oozes cultural capital. But there are two full shelves that are more puzzling: they contain over seventy books by Roy J. Snell. If you are wondering who Snell is, you are not alone. He doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry, and we have devoted over six feet of shelf space to his books!

It turns out Snell churned out adventure books for boys and girls. His books competed with the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series among others, and he got great distribution and solid sales. According to our Rare Book guide, the Snell books were given to the College in 1955 by Snell and the Friends of the Dartmouth College Library to be included in our substantial "Juveniles" collection.

As far as we can tell, we are one of the few places in the world with a complete collection of his novels. If you are searching for an overlooked popular author to write about, we have you covered. To find his books, search the catalog for "Snell, Roy J."

Garden for the Rose

An amazing new book just came into our collections: Sensuite le jardin plaisance et fleur de rethorique (Paris: Jehan Trepperel and Jehan Jehannot, ca. 1515). This "Garden of Pleasure," is a collection of 15th century French poetry complied to serve as a kind of theatrical reading. Read or sung out, the verses would have carried its original readers on a journey through courtly love. It is the perfect companion to our Roman de la Rose manuscript.

The compilation is especially important for being the first to print many 15th century French poems. Included are Christine de Pisan, Charles d'Orléans, and François Villon among others.

Come in and enjoy the garden by asking for Rare PQ1307.J3 1502z.

Autumnal Attire

The fall colors are popping and we are not likely to see many days with temperatures in the 70s until Spring. So, it is time to pull out the fall wardrobe. We are a bit fusty in our fashion, so we'll go with 1899.

Our guide is Gentlemen's Attire, Described and Illustrated, Autumn & Winter 1899-1900, from Lothrops, Farnham and Company. We will need a "proper sack suit" and fashion demands diagonal serges for daily wear.

For slightly more formal occasions, the three-button cutaway is a must.

And, if we head out later, our evening dress has to be the latest style.

Don't forget, it is going to get cold soon, so we will top it all off with a "Very Stylish" overcoat!

To see all of the latest 1899 fashions ask for Rare HF6161.C44 L6.