Our intrepid student workers Sam Smith and Amelia Anderson have recently finished processing a collection of over 50 scrapbooks housed in the Archives. The vast majority of these scrapbooks were created by Lawrence alumni to document their student years. Many of the scrapbook creators went about this task very meticulously, providing detailed notes and captions to accompany all materials. With dates ranging from 1853 to 1989, the scrapbooks provide our most comprehensive documentation of life at Lawrence from students’ perspectives.
The most common materials in the scrapbooks are photographs, newspaper clippings, dance cards, letters and cards, Conservatory and Theatre programs, and fraternity and sorority memorabilia. But matchbooks, pressed flowers, and the occasional bite of wedding cake also make appearances.
Each one of these scrapbooks is described in our collections database, and all of them are open for research use. If any of these scrapbook descriptions pique your curiosity, stop by the Archives any weekday from 1 to 5 (or 1 to 4 during the summer) to sit down and page through them – just don’t eat the cake.