More than 100 visitors, alumni and their families, crowded into Haverford College's Quaker & Special Collections during Alumni Weekend to get a close look at treasures most people only read about: a 1623 Shakespeare First Folio and a first edition of Phillis Wheatley's Poems on various subjects: religious and moral, the first book of poetry published by an African American, printed in London in 1773.
The open house is a recurring event, and those two volumes are what college archivist Liz Jones-Minsinger calls "perennial favorites," according to the college's recap published Wednesday, Aug. 19.
But it was the student-produced materials from the late 1800s and early 1900s that drew the most attention. Jones-Minsinger wrote that visitors were captivated by items capturing aspects of campus life that are "alternately inscrutable and deeply familiar."
Among the highlights: freshman rules written by the Class of 1907 for the incoming Class of 1908. Freshmen, then called "Rhinies," were required to answer the phone in Barclay Hall and "shave at frequent intervals" but told they should "not indulge in canes, high hats, or ostentatious apparel."
The collections also documented a tradition called the "cremation ceremony," which began in the late 1860s. Each year, the sophomore class would select the most hated textbook, put the book and its author on trial, and burn it after a guilty verdict, placing the ashes in a specially made urn. The verdict was always guilty. By the 1880s, the ceremonies had grown elaborate: classes issued invitations, dressed in costume and composed songs. Photographs from the Class of 1886's ceremony show students wielding swords, shields and fake beards.
Another crowd-pleaser was a scrapbook assembled by John Quincy Hunsicker III, Class of 1928, documenting his summer 1928 trip to Europe. Tucked into the front was a New York Times clipping describing drinking, partying and fighting among college students aboard the ship Rotterdam.
Jones-Minsinger wrote that she hoped the open house gave alumni a chance to reflect on how the college's culture has changed over time. The college has not announced a date for the next open house, though the event recurs annually during Alumni Weekend.
Upcoming community events:
- Sept. 1 — Wayne Business Association mixer at Koren's Kitchen
- Ongoing — Delaware County's new 261-mile bike and pedestrian plan open for public review, with routes through Radnor and Haverford
