Call Number:

M130

Repository:

Bryn Mawr College

Extent:

6 boxes

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Cite as Bryn Mawr College Posters for International Expositions Collection, 1893-1926, Bryn Mawr College Special Collections.

Date:

1893-1926 (inclusive)

Creator:

Bryn Mawr College

Abstract:

Bryn Mawr College showcased its mission and prestigious programs at international expositions with an array of displayed materials. The awards in the collection demonstrate the success of these exhibitions and recognition of the high level of education provided to the undergraduate and graduate students in attendance at the college. The earliest exhibited materials in the collection were shown in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where the college won an Educational Exhibit Award. Bryn Mawr was a relatively young institution at the time of the exposition in Chicago, having been open for less than ten years. In 1900, Bryn Mawr College had a more established reputation within the international community. The collection includes materials from the Paris exposition, though there are fewer materials in comparison with the St. Louis exhibit only four years later. The materials related to the St. Louis exposition in 1904 are heavily represented in the Bryn Mawr College Posters for International Expositions collection. The college received a Bronze Medal for an Anthropometric Chart demonstrating the development in strength and lung capacity of students through the college's physical training program, validating the college's emphasis on the intellectual and physical improvement of women. The Grand Prize was awarded to the college for general exhibits on courses, methods, and results. The collection also includes awards from the Paris Exposition, Pan-American Exposition, Charleston Exposition, Exposition Universelle Liege, and the Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition.

Bryn Mawr College opened its doors to female scholars in 1885. The college showcased its mission of developing the minds and bodies of young women at several international expositions. The Bryn Mawr College Posters for International Expositions collection includes materials from the Columbian Fair in Chicago, 1893; the Paris Exposition Décennale, 1900; the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, 1901; the South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition in Charleston, 1901-1902; the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, 1904; the Exposition Universelle et International in Liège, 1905; the Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia, 1926. Most of the collection stems from the St. Louis exposition in 1904, including academic calendars, building plans, student demographics, information regarding the Self-Government Association, descriptions of the organization of the graduate school, the academic departments and courses and exam materials, and awards received by the college.

The Bryn Mawr College Posters for International Expositions collection contains exhibition materials used by Bryn Mawr College to present at various international expositions. The collection, which spans 1893 to 1926, provides an intriguing view into some of Bryn Mawr's first attempts to present and position itself on an international scale.

The collection spans six boxes and is organized into three series by exposition: "Series I: Paris," "Series II: St. Louis," and "Series III: Other Expositions." The collection is almost entirely in English with the exception of awards from Paris and Belgium, which are in French.

"Series I: Paris, 1900-1900" contains four subseries: "Students," "Graduate Club," "Graduate Organization," and "Awards." "Series II: St. Louis, 1904-1904" contains four subseries, as well: "College," "Students" "Departments," and "Awards." "Series III: Other Expositions, 1893-1926" contains five subseries: "Columbian Exposition, 1893," "Pan-American Exposition, 1901," "South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition, 1901-1902," "Exposition Universelle Liege, 1905," and "Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition." These various series include items related to student life; the administration and organization of the college; statistics of graduate students, undergraduate students, and alumnae; exhibits of various departments; original research; awards. The collection is almost entirely in English with the exception of awards from Paris and Belgium, which are in French.

At the time of its first exposition in Chicago, in 1893, Bryn Mawr was still a very young school. This exposition, and the many that followed, were a way for the college to introduce itself and its values to an international audience. The collection provides insight into what the college deemed most valuable or impressive about its students, faculty, buildings, and curriculum. The awards within the collection also evidence the generally positive reaction to the new college.