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A letter by William H. Phelps, first Normal School Principal, to the Judges of the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals, inviting them to examine programs of the institution. Phelps includes a list of events to occur. The letterhead features a printed image of the Normal School main building. This letter was a gift of Charles S. Aitkins, 1935.

Transcription:
[letterhead with lithograph of the Normal School building in Trenton, captioned “New Jersey State Normal School”]
Trenton, June 18th, 1857
To the Honorable the Judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals:
I am directed by the Board of Trustees of the State Normal School to extend to your Honorable Body a cordial invitation to attend the Examination of the Institution now in progress and to conclude this day.
The order of the day is as follows:
Examination of classes from the Model School until 12 o’clock noon.
Review and rehearsal by the Divisions in Local Music
An address by Prof. J. C. Moffat of the College of New Jersey [Princeton University], and select performances of the Glee Class, including the grand chorus from Handel’s Messiah.
Hoping that the engagements of your Honorable Body will permit you to accept this invitation.
I remain [great] respect
Your obedient Sevt.
Wm. Phelps, Principal

In this brief letter, State Normal School Principal Washington Hasbrouck thanks the Thencanic Society for electing him an honorary member. As the Thencanic was founded in 1882, Hasbrouck must have been one of the first honorary members. Transcription included.

This series of three resolutions/letters documents two private debates and one public one between the Thencanic and the Normal Debating Society. The resolutions do not include the topics for debate, nor the names of the debaters. The identities of the Normal School students cannot be conclusively determined. Transcriptions included.

This card, thanking the recipient for their condolences following the death of former U.S. President Chester A. Arthur (1829-1886), was found among the correspondence of the Thencanic Society. No further information is available, but the card indicates the Thencanic's members maintained connections with notable figures even in its earliest years. No transcription.

This card was likely sent to the Thencanic Society from the Normal Debating Society (NDS). It invites the Model School students to "an entertainment" that the NDS was hosting in the "Model Chapel." No other information available. No transcript due to this item's brevity.

James Green pens the Thencanic Society's president a short letter thanking the group for electing him honorary member. Transcription included.

A brief letter from an unidentified student of the Normal Debating Society, apologizing for some interpersonal difficulty with the Thencanic. The exact situation remains unclear but may relate to the matter with "Mr. Ivins" (see related materials). Transcription included.

From his dormitory at Princeton University, Thencanic alumnus Carl H. Rickey thanks the Society for inviting him to their anniversary celebration and apologizes for being unable to attend. As some compensation for his absence, Rickey provides some advice for the group's current membership. Transcription included.

Former Thencanic President Harvey Whitehead thanks the Society for electing him honorary member, and extends to the group his best wishes for their success. Transcription included.

Captain Charles Sigsbee, commander of the U.S.S. Maine at the time of its explosion in Havana Harbor in February 1898, thanks the Thencanic Society for electing him an honorary member. The Thencanic admitted to the membership several notable figures from the Spanish-American War. Transcription included.