Skip to main content

Livonia Ruth Kay (1867-1949) Class Album

 Collection
Identifier: 75/31/25

  • Staff Only
  • No requestable containers

Scope and Contents

Before printed yearbooks with photographs of students became widespread, college students exchanged individual photographs taken at local photography studios and reproduced in quantity. The photographs—usually the 4-1/2"x6-1/4"size called cabinet photographs—were mounted on card stock printed with the photographer's name and address. Students filled albums (with spaces designed to fit the standard cabinet size photos) with card photographs of their friends, including photos of faculty and administrators to create a record of their college years.

This beautiful album, with its embossed cover and elaborately decorated pages, was produced by Edward Posen & Co. It contains cabinet card portraits of Livonia Kay and her schoolmates, friends, and Northwestern University professors and administrators. Many photographs have no identification; a piece of paper placed on the page lists the names of any identified subject. Two photos of Kay herself are found toward the middle of the album.

The album underwent conservation by the Northwestern University Library's Conservation Lab to repair its damaged cover.

Dates

  • 1891

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

1.00 Boxes

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Before printed yearbooks with photographs of students became widespread, college students exchanged individual photographs taken at local photography studios and reproduced in quantity. The photographs—usually the 4-1/2″ × 6-1/4″ size called cabinet photographs—were mounted on card stock printed with the photographer's name and address. Students filled albums (with spaces designed to fit the standard cabinet size photos) with card photographs of their friends, including photos of faculty and administrators to create a record of their college years.
This beautiful album, with its embossed cover and elaborately decorated pages, was produced by Edward Posen & Co. It contains cabinet card portraits of Livonia Kay and her schoolmates, friends, and Northwestern University professors and administrators. Many photographs have no identification; a piece of paper placed on the page lists the names of any identified subject. Two photos of Kay herself are found toward the middle of the album.
The album underwent conservation by the Northwestern University Library's Conservation Lab to repair its damaged cover.

Method of Acquisition

Livonia Kay's class album was donated to the University Archives by Louis Kay (Kay's great-nephew) on August 6, 2002, as Accession Number 02-103.

Related Materials

Alumni Biographical Files, Series 51/2, Box 6. Class Albums, 1874-1887, Series 75/31/24 (25 volumes)

Separated Materials

None

Processing Information

Janet Olson, June 2005

Title
Guide to the Livonia Ruth Kay (1867-1949) Class Album
Author
Janet Olson
Date
01/06/2005
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

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