University Artifacts collection, 1750s-2010s, bulk 1880s-1990s

Summary Information

At a Glance

Arrangement

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into 10 series. Artifacts are arranged by type of material they are primarily made from and sometimes are sub-divided further into more refined categories. Artifacts that could not be easily categorized are found in series IX: "Memorabilia".

• Series I: Ceramic and Porcelain Objects
• Series II: Glass Objects
• Series III: Metal Objects
• Sub-Series III.1: General
• Sub-series III.2: Button and Pins
• Sub-Series III.3: Ceremonial Items
• Sub-series III.4: Jewelry
• Sub-series III.5: Scientific Instruments
• Sub-series III.6: Serving Pieces
• Sub-series III.7: Silver Pieces
• Sub-series III.8: Trophies and Awards
• Series IV: Paper Based Items
• Series V: Plastic Objects
• Series VI: Textiles
• Sub-Series VI.1: Apparel
• Sub-Series VI.2: Beanies and Caps
• Sub-Series VI.3: Flags, Banners, Bags and Pennants
• Sub-Series VI.4: Ribbons, Patches, Sashes and Fabric
• Series VII: Wooden Objects
• Sub-Series VII.1 General
• Sub-Series VII.2 Goodwood Cups
• Sub-Series VII.3 Plaques
• Series VIII: Models and Statuettes
• Series IX: Memorabilia
• Series X: Trustees Collection

Description

Summary

The University Artifacts Collection contains objects, textiles, buttons, trophies, ribbons, plaques, plates, and other three-dimensional items used as well as created by or for the University since its founding in 1754 as King's College. Some items were created for specific individuals or classes.

• Series I: Ceramic and Porcelain Objects

  This series contains items made of ceramic or porcelain, including a set of Wedgewood and Lenox plates depicting campus buildings and Soph Triumph mugs.

• Series II: Glass Objects

  This series contains items made of glass, including commemorative glasses distributed at reunions.

• Series III: Metal Objects

  This series contains items made of various metals and is divided into 8 sub-series: General, Buttons and Pins, Ceremonial Items, Jewelry, Scientific Instruments, Serving Pieces, Silver Pieces, Trophies and Awards. Items of note include a collection of 1968 buttons, a shovel used for the groundbreaking of Uris Hall, and original dies for the seals of the University. Additional medals and pins can be found in Columbia Medals Collection (UA#0121).

• Series IV: Paper Based Items

  This series contains items made of paper, including dance cards, prints, Columbia "trading cards", notebooks, notepads, a paper mache lion, and scrolls.

• Series V: Plastic Objects

  This series contains objects made from plastic include key chains, paperweights, and commemorative mugs.

• Series VI: Textiles

  This series contains fabric items and is divided into 4 sub-series: Apparel; Beanies and Caps; Flags, Banners, Bags and Pennants; Ribbons, Patches, Sashes and Fabric. Textiles include t-shirts, freshman beanies, reunion and class ribbons, and armbands. Additional textile materials can be found in Academic Costumes and Textiles Collection (UA#0102).

• Series VII: Wooden Objects

  This series consists of items made primarily out of wood and is divided into 3 sub-series: General, Goodwood Cups, and Plaques.

• Series VIII: Models and Statuettes

  This series contains a collection of models and statuettes depicting campus buildings and features as well as of one person, J. Howard van Amringe. Models of campus buildings and features include Low Library, Butler Library, Earl Hall, the sun dial, and Alma Mater. Models are made of metal, paper and/or plaster.

• Series IX: Memorabilia

  This series is a "catch all" for objects that defy categorization (made of multiple types of material) and for collected memoriabilia. Collected memoriabilia was not otherwise easy to categorize as it was originally foldered together and consists of different types of objects. Highlights of this series include an ear trumpet used by Columbia President F.A.P. Barnard, a chemistry set used by Harmon Cozzens (EM 1885), and the collected memorabilia from a 1939 visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Columbia University.

• Series X: Trustees Collection

  This series consists of objects maintained by the Trustees and includes silverware and serving pieces used by the University over the years.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Restrictions on Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

The following boxes are located off-site in 408C Low Library: 1-32, 35-43, 45-49, 51-70.

Due to the fragile and unwieldly nature of many items in this collection, access should be arranged with the University Archives staff. Please email uarchives@columbia.edu for assistance.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Personal photographs of objects may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Preferred Citation

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); University Artifacts Collection; Box and Folder; University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University Libraries.

Related Materials

Additional textile materials can be found in Academic Costumes and Textiles Collection (UA#0102).

Additional medals and pins can be found in Columbia Medals Collection (UA#0121).

Accrual

Additions are expected

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Collection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2018 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative.

EAD finding aid created by Jocelyn Wilk in December 2022.

Revision Description

December 2022 EAD finding aid created by JW.

January 2023 Box 61 added by JW.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches at Columbia University through the Archival Collections Portal and through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, as well as ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Subject

History / Biographical Note

History

Columbia University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York and the fifth oldest in the United States, was founded in 1754 as King's College by royal charter of King George II of England. Samuel Johnson, the College's first president, held the first classes in October 1754 in the vestry room of the Trinity Church schoolhouse on lower Broadway. There were eight students in this first class. This room housed classes until 1760 when the school moved to a building on Park Place in downtown Manhattan, near the present site of City Hall. Classes were suspended during the American Revolution in 1776 and the building was used as a barrack and hospital for both British and American troops. When instruction resumed in 1784, King's College changed its name to Columbia, in keeping with the contemporary political climate.

Classes continued in the Park Place campus building until 1857, when, to accommodate its continuing expansion, the college moved to 49th Street and Madison Avenue. It remained at this site for forty years, until 1897, when the university was moved by President Seth Low to the more spacious Morningside Heights campus, designed as an urban academic village by McKim, Mead, and White.

During the last half of the nineteenth century, Columbia rapidly assumed the shape of a modern university. The Columbia School of Law was founded in 1858. The country's first mining school, a precursor of today's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, was established in 1864 and awarded the first Columbia Ph.D. in 1875. Barnard College for women became affiliated with Columbia in 1889; the medical school came under the aegis of the University in 1891, followed by Teachers College in 1893. In the 1880s, Columbia developed graduate faculties in political science, philosophy, and pure science, establishing Columbia as one of the nation's earliest center for graduate education. In 1896, the Trustees authorized the use of yet another new name, Columbia University, and today the institution is officially known as Columbia University in the City of New York.

During the presidency of Nicholas Murray Butler (1902-1945), Columbia emerged as a preeminent national center for educational innovation and scholarly achievement. The study of the sciences flourished along with the liberal arts. Franz Boas founded the modern science of anthropology at Columbia in the early decades of the twentieth century; the School of Journalism was established by bequest of Joseph Pulitzer in 1912; a course of study of original masterworks for undergraduates was created which ultimately developed into what is now know as the Core Curriculum; and atomic research was conducted by Columbia faculty, bringing the Physics Department to international prominence. In 1946, the School of International Affairs (now the School of International and Public Affairs) was founded marking the beginning of intensive growth in international relations as a major scholarly focus of the University.

Columbia continued to expand in the ensuing decades -- improving both its physical plant and creating new programs and infrastructure for a growing campus and community. Today it is considered one of the pre-eminent institutions of higher learning in the country and in the world.