Bidspirit auction | 1881-1884 A Trio of Cornell

1881-1884 A Trio of Cornell University The Cornelian Yearbooks - A collection of three early Cornell University yearbooks, titled The Cornelian, dating from the early 1880s. These volumes represent a transitional period in the university's history when the annuals were published by student fraternities and secret societies. The 1881 edition is bound in white softcover wraps with a pebble-textured finish and red serif typography. The interior title page states it was published by the Kappa Alpha, Alpha Delta Phi, Psi Upsilon, and Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternities and printed by Norton & Conklin in Ithaca, New York. It contains Victorian-style woodcuts, including a fraternity crest for Delta Upsilon and a plate titled The Serenade. The 1882 edition is bound in burgundy textured wraps with gold-tone lettering. The title page credits the publication to the Secret Societies of Cornell University. This volume includes a loose paper insert titled Members and Addresses of Cornell University Class of 1883, which is a printed list originally dated June 1919 and marked Revised to 1925 in manuscript. The 1883-84 edition features a heavy cardstock cover with an illustration of a Greek figure painting a vase marked 85. The title page identifies the editors as Edward Hermon Bostwick, Bertrand Hand Fisher, Albert Ankeny Hartzell, Alfred Mitton Mosscrop, Henry Collier Olmsted, George Barlow Penny, and Wilbur Hazleton Smith. It contains a portrait of Andrew Dickson White, the first president of Cornell, with a printed facsimile signature reading And. D. White. The volumes include historical documentation such as Statistics of the Senior Class, which lists student data on politics, religion, and views on co-education. They also feature local Ithaca and national period advertisements for companies including the Guion Line steamships, Wm. S. Kimball & Co. tobacco, and local businesses like Howard & Clement Furniture and Undertaking and White & Burdick Fountain Drug Store. A decorative graphic at the end of one volume identifies Hosford & Sons of New York as the Makers of the Cornelian. The collection is in fair to good condition, consistent with age and softcover construction. The 1881 edition shows significant water staining and tidelines along the bottom margin of the interior pages (photo 5, 8). The 1882 edition has light creasing and edge wear to the burgundy covers (photo 12). The 1883-84 edition shows the most substantial wear, with significant chipping, tears, and losses to the paper covers at the edges and corners (photo 19), and paper loss along the spine (photo 20). Toning and light foxing are present throughout the set.