A President’s Degree and a Long-Lost Letter

As Columbia gets ready to host Commencement in person once again (May 18 for the Class of 2022 and May 19 for the Classes of 2020 and 2021) and in honor of Presidents’ Day, we look back to Commencement 1861. During the Commencement exercises in June 1861, Columbia President Charles King announced that the College […]

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Thomas Carlyle’s photograph album

Among the many rich sources of visual material in RBML are Thomas Carlyle’s photograph albums. The seven albums in RBML’s collection are typical of the 19th century and include primarily carte-de-visite, or photographic calling cards, that were popular at the time. These cards were used by individuals similarly to contemporary business cards, but cards with […]

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