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Content warning: Some of the yearbooks from 1911 through the 1930s contain racist illustrations of figures in blackface and minstrel characters, as well as inaccurate, derogatory, and/or offensive depictions of Asian and Indigenous people.

The first issue of The Seal was focused on the history and activities of the Class of 1911 and included sections on “class prophecies,” “statistics” of each student, a calendar of the year’s past events, poems, ditties and songs, vignettes of events in each department and hall (dorm) life, listings of the literary societies as well as social clubs (such as “the red mice” and “the clammy six”), a group portrait of the class and some of the societies and clubs, and advertising from Trenton businesses. The seniors were listed in a directory and did not have individual portraits. The next yearbook, 1912, had a similar format, but also included a list of faculty members, as well as photographs of the campus buildings. Starting in 1915, there were individual portraits of graduating seniors (1913 had individual portraits as well, but not 1914). The format remained fairly consistent afterward, however a few issues from the 1920s also have the Juniors, or class of February of the next year listed in the book with the previous May graduates. The Yearbook Club had several name variations, including: Year-Book Club, Year Book Club, or just “Yearbook” or “Seal.”

The collection is complete from 1911 until The Seal ceased publication in 2017. No issue was printed in 1944 due to World War II restrictions.

In addition, there are a few folders of ephemera, correspondence, photographs, obituaries, and other clippings taken from books formerly belonging to Vivian Rolandelli, Kenneth Weber, and Jessie Turk.

This collection documents the ceremonies and related events of Commencement and/or graduation exercises at The College of New Jersey spanning 1858 to the present day.

The collection includes the following materials:

Commencement invitations - These are formal printed invitations that may include a student’s calling card or handwritten details during the Normal School years, as well as commercially printed invitations used to date, c. 1869-2005 (bulk c. 1869-1920, 1977-2005).

Class Day and/or week programs - These are often beautifully printed and bound with cord and tassels, which likely served as a keepsake for students of the Normal and Model Schools. They list the schedule of activities for a graduating class during a day or over the span of a week. In some cases, they also include the Commencement program (c. 1894-1924).

The Normal and Model Schools classes of 1917 did not have a Class Day, but instead participated in Red Cross activities supporting World War I. The Model School as a K-12 school ended after the class of 1917, when it became “The Training School” offering only the elementary grades. In the 1930s, official Class Day or Week activities were replaced by less formal “Senior Week” activities, which continued off and on over the decades. Search The Signal newspaper for more information https://dr.tcnj.edu/handle/2900/275

Commencement tickets - These are admission tickets to the Normal or Model School Commencement ceremonies, usually at Taylor Opera House, c.1873-1901.

Commencement programs - These are printed programs of the Commencement ceremony, often containing the names of all graduating students. During the Normal School years, some have various embossed and/or multicolor illustrations of the school, insignia, or decorative lettering. Later programs have fewer design elements. The collection is mostly complete after 1891 with the exception of 2000, c. 1883-2023.

Promotion Exercises programs - These were for the Grammar A Class of the Model School, which held a graduation-style ceremony, c. 1909-1917.

Class and school songs - These are separate printed pages of songs to be sung during Commencement and other graduation events, usually containing a unique song for the graduating class and other school anthems and/or alma mater, c. 1899-1901.

Baccalaureate programs - These were printed as separate programs c. 1934-1964, but during the Normal School years, information about the Baccalaureate service was listed in the Class Day/Week or Commencement programs.

Programs for departmental, diploma, or other special graduation ceremonies - These are programs for Commencement events held outside of the main ceremony, often for graduate students or special groups, c. 1967; c. 2016-2023.

Original speeches - There are two handwritten speeches: “I Have Wandered in my Dreams,” is a Commencement speech from 1870 whose author is unknown. The Annual Report for that year lists Mary F. Chadwick and Rosalie A. Collins as presenters of "honorary essays," and Katie L. Wilson was valedictorian. And "The Child's Ability to Reason" was a valedictory essay written by Ira Collins, but read by O. Watson Flavelle, due to Collins’ ill health at June 1899 Commencement.

Graduation or Commencement Bulletins - These are newsletters that contain information and schedule of events around the Commencement ceremony. c. 1969-1999

Graduation Convocation program - During some years, the college held an August graduation combined with the annual Convocation ceremony. These programs document those ceremonies, c. 1960-1967.

Scrapbooks - There are two scrapbooks in this series: The older scrapbook (c. 1873-1921) contains ephemera related to Commencement such as invitations, tickets, and programs for Senior class activities and the Commencement ceremony from the era of the Normal School.

In the 1908-1932 scrapbook, many of the Commencement programs only have the page with the events of the day and do not have the cover and/or a page listing the graduate’s names. Starting in 1918, some of them have the page with graduates’ names, but they were at one time pasted into a notebook that has since been disassembled but the back pages of the brochures may not be accessible and/or readable.

Annual group portraits of graduating classes. Many years have graduating classes in February and June. There are a small number of group portraits of Model School classes through 1912, as well. Additionally, there are a handful of faculty group portraits.

Content warning: Some of the published music in this collection was used in minstrel shows and some song lyrics may contain racist and harmful depictions of marginalized groups, sexist or misogynistic language, and xenophobic attitudes and opinions.

The collection contains autobiographical information including a curriculum vitae-like document composed after Bray’s retirement. She also jotted down notes for a “Typical day at retirement home” that might have been for an article in the home’s newsletter or other publication.

Her teaching and grading materials include handwritten music for portions of three Richard Wagner works: “Das Rheingold,” “Walkure,” and “Siegfried,” that may have been used for her 1933-1934 class: “German Music of the Romantic Period.” Grading materials include a “Colonial Class Register" notebook from 1947-1948 containing students’ names and grades for the following classes: Chorus, Elementary Appreciation Methods, Supervision of Music, Child Voice, High School Appreciation Methods, and Student Teaching. Also included are handwritten evaluations for the following students, mostly of the class of 1951: Albert Bazzel, Glenn Welshon, Vilma Kosco, and Doris Allen. Bray retired in 1948, which indicates that these students may have been among her last at Trenton State College.

The correspondence contains a variety of material. She received compliments for school performances she directed, as well as congratulations on her retirement. Many letters are from former students who also included updates on their lives or anecdotes about their time in Bray’s classes. There are several letters from Helen Layton Lowrey who worked in the college’s business office and who did Bray’s taxes during several years of her retirement. These letters include news about other former faculty members including Doris Perry and Lulu Haskell. There also are a few letters that Bray wrote to Trenton State College Presidents Edwin Martin and Clayton Brower that include biographical information and details about the development of the Music Department. Finally, there are letters from Effie G. Kuhn, the Head of the Speech Department from 1919-1952, and K. Elizabeth “Betty” Ingalls, an instructor of Music from 1940-1948.

There are two items of ephemera: a pamphlet from the Supervisors School of Music in Westfield, New Jersey, from 1918, and a program for the dedication of Bray Hall in 1964. Publications include a set (with multiple copies) of Bray’s Phono-Song Course, Books 1 - 4, from 1920, and a small number of issues of “Oak Leaves” newsletter from Bray’s retirement home.