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Tribune – Pajama Race

 Series — Box: 4
Identifier: Series 123

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The Bixby collection consists of approximately 1,000 items, including interfiled prints and negatives. The combined prints and negatives fill four “shoeboxes”. While many prints were included, the bulk of the collection was initially formed by negatives. The photographs document life at Northwestern during the period ca. 1939-1942. Prominent among them are images of courtship, fraternity and sorority rituals, and formal dances. Rounding out the collection are photographs of student residences, athletic events, theatrical performances, members of the faculty and staff, and notable visitors to campus (Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, etc.).

Bixby was an accomplished photographer. Items within the Bixby collection at the University Archives are typically of very high quality in terms of composition and physical interest. Prints selected from the collection have been used as key illustrations in two studies in American cultural history: Helen Lefkowitz Horowitz, Campus Life: Undergraduate Cultures From the End of the Eighteenth Century to the Present (New York: A.A. Knopf, 1987) and Beth L. Baily, From Front porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth Century America (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, c1988).

Contact prints made from the collection's negatives are included in the print portion of the collection. The photographic prints are black and white and the standard size of both prints and negatives is 4″× 5″. The prints and negatives are arranged alphabetically by subject title (Homecoming, Sigma Alpha Epsilon rush, Basketball, Dance: Navy Ball, etc.); Index cards with the subject titles divide the negatives, while each print is labeled individually on the back.

Negatives are enveloped individually.

Dates

  • 1939-1942

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on use of the materials in the department for research; all patrons must comply with federal copyright regulations.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is stored at a remote campus location and requires two business days advance notice for retrieval. Please contact the McCormick Library at specialcollections@northwestern.edu or 847-491-3635 for more information or to schedule an appointment to view the collection.

Extent

From the Collection: 4.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Library Details

Part of the Northwestern University Archives Repository

Contact:
Deering Library, Level 3
1970 Campus Dr.
Evanston IL 60208-2300 US
847-491-3635