Featured Items

EGLOMISE REVERSE PAINTED MIRRORS FOR COLLEGE FANS

Please see our write-up below about the framed reverse painted panels we have in stock. This mirror is one of three mirrors we currently have. You can see the other two by going to browse the Columbia University category as well as the University of Connecticut. This Cornell mirror measures 14.5" x 15.5" overall. The image of Cornell itself is 11.5" x 7". These mirrors are no longer available in the reverse painted form, today's are simply decals applied to the glass. The framed views and mirrors in our inventory are older, and are actual paintings in reverse on glass. These make fabulous gifts for current students, those just heading off to college, wedding gifts and of course it goes without saying they are great graduation or "thanks for the education" gifts. Please contact us if you have any questions. We pack very carefully for successful shipping!

CK712 -- $150.00
FRAMINGHAM STATE UNIVERSITY DINNERWARE SET

We're pleased to present a great 4 piece place setting of dinnerware for the students, alums, faculty and parents of Framingham State University. This school's history is interesting, beginning as Framingham Normal School, becoming Framingham Teachers College and now known as Framingham State University. It was the United States' first Normal School. In June, 1953 the 100th anniversary was celebrated with, among other things, the manufacture of this lovely dinnerware. The dinner plate was made by Wedgwood and the other pieces by Adams in England through their reseller Jonroth, Old English Stafforshireware firm. The color match on these 4 pieces is perfect and they are all the same pattern and plate blank shape. Here is a photo of the cup and saucer and here the salad plate. The detail of the school crest inside the cup and the beauty of May Hall on the dinner plate make the set a truly wonderful remembrance of this college with its great history. We have only this one set in stock, you'll find it listed on alexisantiques.com as well as here, but we also have another dinner plate, please go to www.alexisantiques.com to see ww756c.

Let us know if you have any questions!

CK239 -- $75.00
Bowdoin College Punch Bowl

This great bowl works well as a centerpiece bowl for dining table or any decorative use. The sketches are by Elinor Trueman, the present day scene sketches are around the exterior. The center scene shown here is the campus in 1820. This bowl is in gorgeous condition and was made in 1944. Click the photo to go to our regular listing for it, and be sure to click hereM to see another photo. Be sure to see our other Bowdoin College items too.

WWKT701-14C -- $295.00
ANTIQUE YALE COLLEGE COFFEE POT

On the road in Florida we have turned up this wonderful Yale treasure. We've never seen anything like this. There is a maker's mark, but it is so faint we can't read it. When we get it home we'll try to scan it & if we can read it, we'll of course change our listing. Overall fine crazing does not spoil its look, and is normal in antique ceramics. We aren't sure if this is European or American, but whichever it is, it's darling! The gilt and yellow hand-painted accents are over the glaze. The Yale symbols are also over the glaze, and all these accents are in wonderful condition. There is a TAD bit of gilt loss on the top edge, but barely noticeable. We did not wash it yet, and I think I spied some dust; it'll arrive at its new home freshly washed and of course very well packed. Let us know if you have any questions. It's 9.5" tall without the lid. The lid sports a mortar board as the knop, the tassel is raised a bit and highlighted in gold, a darling added bit of whimsy! What a fun addition to a Yale china collection!

CL209 -- $249.00
1920 Cornellian Annual - wonderful historic Cornell treasure

The sheep suede cover of this fabulous book has dried out and the edges are fraying. While it needs tender handling, the contents are worth every bit of the trouble. The book is heavy because as is usually the case with this type of volume, the paper is heavy, and a few more than 700 pages add up. It's difficult to describe the beauty of the contents of this book. All of the graphics are beautiful works of art, even the header on every page has an elegant look. There are line-drawing crests for fraternities & sororities, some have photos of the beautiful chapter homes. There is a Roll of Chapters, listing the schools at which the sorority or fraternity has chapters, then the next page has the photo of the chapter house and list of members. Photos of the members are complete w/ names to id the pix. Each section, i.e., clubs, organizations, athletics, etc., has a beautiful cover page of its own with drawings contemporary with the times. What a treasure of the class of 1920 at Cornell, but also a fabulous example of '20s publishing arts! Any questions will be answered as quickly as possible, just ask. There are typical posed portrait pix of all Seniors, plus other casual poses, the name of the high school attended, activities, how many years at Cornell, Greek membership, and a long class history, "The Story of the War Class". Juniors are named and there are some casual photos too. Interestingly the Seniors are divided - the male students are pictured first, then another section for the females!

Contact us for more information ~ this would be a treasure for the family of a member of the 1920 Class of Cornell or anyone interested in Cornell or an earlier era of publishing and publishing arts. Click the photo to return to the regular listing for more information or to order or ask questions.

CL110F5 -- $75.00
DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION PLATES - DAR SCHOOLS

As we begin our sixteenth year in business, we hope you will shop with us often, or just get in touch to tell us what you are looking for or how we can help you with your College Plate needs. Be sure to look at our Featured Items and LINKS as there is always interesting information posted both places.

In the meantime, as a long-time history buff I love having DAR issue plates and merchandise in stock. The DAR supported schools often had plates produced by Wedgwood for fund-raising purposes or for gifts for various honored individuals. Here is a plate for the largest DAR school, Tamassee, in Tamassee, SC. The DAR issue items that are not specifically for schools are here, have a look if you are a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution or just interested in American History.

WW795-10C -- $48.00
HARVARD CLASS OF 1856 ALBUM OF HALF-TONE PORTRAITS RARE

There are many books of information about the various classes of years gone by at Harvard. The Class Secretary frequently was charged with gathering information & pictures to publish a review of the class and biographies of the class members at intervals after the 25th anniversary of the class. This volume is very unusual in that it is a compilation of half-tone portraits printed with no other information about the class members. We are in the process of researching some of the class members and the book will have our research with it when it finds a new home. As far as we know so far the most famous person in the class was Charles Francis Adams and his is the first picture in the book. The photographs have been individually identified in pencil all in the same hand-writing. A couple include death dates, and from our research we find several others were already deceased when this book was published. It is an oddity, why would one publish a book with NO text? The photos in this album are identical to the later-in-life portraits of the class members found in the 1906 50th anniversary Class History. Perhaps this was a preliminary album to record the photos available, lay out the size, or some such. Let us know if you have any questions or any input for us. Meantime, we'll keep looking for another one, we'd like to see if there were any printed with the names. We have the class rankings for the Class of 1856 so we can annotate the list with that information. There is a volume held in the Harvard Archives entitled Class Album 1856 and we are actively seeking a local Harvard student or employee who would, after we request the book from the Archives, go to the library and examine it for us; it may be an example of this volume. If you would like to do that, please contact us through this website.

CL123 -- $225.00
ANNAPOLIS NAVAL ACADEMY PHOTO SCRAPBOOK c1910 RARE FIND

Another item we are pleased to offer our clients is this professionally produced scrapbook from about 1910. It is a book full of black & white photos, one per page, about 6" x 8" each. They are professional photos of various campus and Annapolis scenes - of course The Chapel, grandstand at the athletic field, the Main Gate, a photo of a duty squad of midshipmen (genealogy anyone? Your ancestor at USNA in this time-frame?), Bancroft Hall, Lover's Lane and Academic Hall, Chapel from the Colonnade and more. We are happy to send photos and more information to a prospective buyer. We realize that at the higher price range buyers probably want to see more of what they would be buying and we're happy to oblige, just drop us an email or give us a call. We have recently added several new books on various schools, so scroll through all the schools that you might have connections with and see what we might have to please.

CL110P -- $175.00
LOUISE E. BETTENS - Fabulous Harvard History & Genealogy Book RARE FIND

We believe that expensive books need good description so viewers can understand the value of the item. This volume is a great example and a fabulous find. First, it is full leather bound with silk endpapers privately published in 1910. There were 250 copies printed, but the first 12 were entitled 'Louise E. Bettens', the mother of the author Edward E. Bettens. These 12 were given to special friends, family members and important colleagues at Harvard. The copy we have for sale is one of the special 12 and was given to Eliot Tuckerman of New York City, and his letter acknowledging receipt of the book is printed within. The mailing label, cut from the original packing, from Edward Bettens to Mr. Tuckerman is enclosed. Thomas Simms Bettens, Harvard Class of 1874, was a teacher at a private school funneling students to the Ivies, and obviously much loved and respected. The other books of the 250 edition were entitled 'Thomas S. Bettens' and the edition was published upon the death of Professor Bettens. Eliot Tuckerman was the chairman of a committee of Professor Bettens' students, graduates of Harvard, Yale, Princeton & Columbia, who proposed, designed and procured a fountain in memory of Professor Bettens at the Harvard Student Union. All this correspondence is included in this wonderful book, along with poems, tributes, letters, photogravures (faced with tissue) having to do with the Bettens family, Mrs. Bettens' struggle after her husband's untimely death and the careers of her sons, mostly Thomas the teacher. Her first son died early and is memorialized in the book also. This is a true literary treasure, a treasure of gorgeous book-binding, and of course a tremendous bit of Harvard history. This is a MUST HAVE in any complete library of Harvard literature. Please do not hesitate to ask us for more information and more photos if you have any hesitation about this book. We are proud to offer this to our Harvard collectors!

Here is a bit more information about the book:

"SMITH COLLEGE RARE GIFT TO THE LIBRARY Northampton, Oct. 6 (Special) — At the last Smith College chapel exercises President Neilson took the occasion to announce the presentation to the Browning Room of the library of a new book entitled "Mrs. Louise E. Bettens." In characterizing the book President Neilson said: 'It is one of the most valuable that we possess, as it is one of the most exquisite pieces of book-making in respect to its binding and illustrations; but it is even more valuable than this because of its contents.' The story is a tribute written by a son to his mother, who was left, while still young, a widow with three sons to support. As a teacher and newspaper woman she struggled and managed to put these sons through college. Blindness and paralysis overtook her, but she persevered, and became a woman of great cul ture. Two of the sons died. The third, who did not marry, stayed with her to the end, and has published this volume as a memorial to her devotion. There have been published only two hundred and fifty copies of this book, which are for private distribution." (From Boston Evening Transcript, October 6th, 1917.)

CL110W -- $300.00
MIT Printer Block and Cigarette - Tobacco leather

We have recently added several Printer's Blocks and leathers to our inventory, for several different schools. This example is the only one we have priced as a set, and we are willing to separate them, $10 for the leather, $49 for the stamp, just send us an email and we'll work with you. During the 1900 to about 1910 time-frame, these leathers were used as premiums in tobacco and cigarette packets. They are available for a large number of colleges and universities and a few other schools. They look very handsome matted in coordinating colors and framed. They make nice bookmarks too! The printer blocks can also be framed, but look great on a well-kept desk as a paperweight too. We also stock quite a few of the cigarette silks, and will be adding them to inventory. Check the listing for your school to see what we have listed so far or send an email to check to see if we have your school in stock but not yet listed. Certainly these make an interesting and unusual gift for that new student or alum, and make great graduation gifts. Shipping on the leathers is very inexpensive of course, and the blocks can be sent in bubble envelopes very economically also. We currently have leathers for Bucknell, West Point, USC, U of Chicago, St. Louis and Columbia Universities listed, but have plenty more in stock. For the printer's blocks we have Fordham University, Carnegie Tech, Johns Hopkins, Cleveland Schools, Western Reserve and Vanderbilt so do check them out!

CL402 -- $59.00
ÉGLOMISÉ REVERSE PAINTINGS ON GLASS - WHAT ARE THEY?

In stock now, in addition to several decorative mirrors with verre églomisé reverse paintings at the top, we have four framed collegiate paintings in the same églomisé treatment. These are framed pieces of glass with reverse painted scenes of buildings on the campuses of various schools. The painted scenes are applied in reverse to the back of the glass, then it is framed. [Here is a definition for those who might not be familiar with the term églomisé: églo·mi·sé \ˌâ-glə-(ˌ)mç-ˈzâ, ˌe-; ˈâ-glə-(ˌ)mç-ˌ, ˈe-\ Function: adjective Etymology: French, past participle of églomiser meaning to decorate a glass panel by painting on its back, from French Decorator Jean-Baptiste Glomy who died in 1786 : made of glass on the back of which is a painted picture that shows through.] This technique, which dates back to the 18th century, is expensive and is no longer produced for these college accessories. In today's market the effect is reproduced by the use of prints of the paintings applied to the back of the glass panels, much like a decal process. The paintings are soft but yet detailed depictions of favorite campus scenes. The goldleaf wood frames lend a soft antique look and at 9.5" x 14.5", they make a lovely yet not overpowering statement in the home or office decor. Valued by alums, professors, students and proud parents, they are an excellent way to show one's school dedication and spirit. You can Browse Schools to see the others besides this University of Michigan example once you return to the regular listing for this one by clicking on the photo, then just click the Browse Schools button from the dark blue bar on the left. In stock currently are Amherst, Auburn University, University of North Carolina, Mt. Holyoke, as well as this University of Michigan example. We have adequate packing materials to see that they arrive at their new home in good condition. Let us know if you would like more photos or further information in your shopping process.

CK703 -- $85.00

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