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Bryn Mawr College Class Ring Collection
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Held at: Bryn Mawr College [Contact Us]Bryn Mawr College Library, 101 N. Merion Avenue, Bryn Mawr 19010
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Bryn Mawr College. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
This is a collection of class rings that spans from 1901 until 1921, the final year of individualized class rings at the college. The rings vary in shape, color, embellishments, and quality, highlighting how unique each class was in their design. The class rings also show trends in jewelry from year to year. All the rings offer insight into the class culture and interests of the students from the engravings in the stone to unique ring band designs, many of which include the class animal for the given year. Some rings contain initials identifying the alumna who owned the ring.
- Publisher
- Bryn Mawr College
- Finding Aid Author
- Grace Foresman
- Finding Aid Date
- 2024
Collection Inventory
A 1901 gold class ring. The head of the ring has the class year engraved in the center, above are three owls with the inscription "BMC." The engravings on the head are backward, indicating this ring was likely meant to be used as a seal. On each shoulder of the ring band is the silhouette of a seated owl. The inner side of the band has the initials "E. F." engraved. The ring could have belonged to either Eugenia Fowler (Henry) or Evelyn L. Fisk (Gould).
A 1903 gold class ring. The head of the ring is a dark green, oval stone with two heraldic dolphins engraved in the center and the class year below. Heraldic dolphins were the 1903 class animal. The engravings within the stone are backward, indicating that this ring was also used as a seal. The ring band is unique in its continuous use of the dolphin motif, as the band is made in the shape of two heraldic dolphins intertwined with elaborately carved scales and fins. On the inside of the ring band is a short phrase in what appears to be Greek along with the initials S. P. L, identifying the original alumna as Sally P. Law (McGlannan).
Sally. P. Law (1876-1943) was an undergraduate alumna from the class of 1903. According to her peers, she was a very studious student, as indicated by her senior initials being "Studies Pretty Late." After graduating, she went on to be one of the first women to attend Johns Hopkins Medical School, graduating with a doctorate in medicine in 1907. Soon after graduating, she married Alexius McGlannan, a well-known surgeon in Baltimore. She spent the rest of her life in Baltimore with her husband. Dr. Sally P. McGlannan passed away in 1943 in Baltimore.
In the early 2000s, Dr. Sally P. McGlannan and her family were brought into the spotlight due to the family's history of owning enslaved people. Dr. Sally P. McGlannan was the descendent of Preserved Porter, a wealthy physician from Waterbury, Connecticut. In the late 18th century, the Porter family owned an enslaved man named Fortune. Fortune had a wife Dinah, and several children, who were also enslaved by the Porter family. After Fortune died, Dr. Porter stripped Fortune's body to use his skeleton as an anatomy model. Fortune's skeleton remained in the Porter family until Dr. Sally P. McGlanan donated Fortune's remains to the Mattatuk Museum, in 1933 where he was displayed under the name "Larry" for several decades. In 1970, the Mattatuk Museum removed Fortune's remains from display, however his identity was not discovered until the early 2000s when Waterbury's African American History Project Committee connected "Larry" to Fortune. In 2013, his remains were finally given a proper burial in Connecticut.
A 1903 class ring that has been greatly tarnished. Only the backplate that holds the green stone has retained its former gold color. To see a less tarnished version, see RG8-M5-002. The head of the ring is a dark green, oval stone with two heraldic dolphins engraved in the center and the class year below. Heraldic dolphins were the 1903 class animal. The engravings within the stone are backward, indicating that this ring was also used as a seal.
A 1904 class ring with a gold-colored band. The head of the ring is a light blue, oval stone with the engravings of a beaver and the class year. The beaver was the 1904 class animal. The engravings on the head of the stone are backwards, indicating this ring was also likely used as a seal. This ring came with a box (RG8-M5-004b).
A small, white ring box donated alongside the 1904 ring (RG8-M5-004a).
A 1905 class ring with a thick, gold-colored band. Engraved on the head of the ring is a Pegasus. The Pegasus was the 1905 class animal. Above the Pegasus is '05, indicating the class year. Surrounding the Pegasus is a short phrase, likely Greek. The engravings on the head are backward, indicating that the ring was also used as a seal. The band of the ring has several parallel, vertical lines meant to mimic the aesthetic of a Greek pillar.
A 1906 class ring made of 14k gold. The head of the ring is carved to look like a crab, with its legs sprawling down over the shoulders of the ring band. Inside the large crab is a smaller crab engraved with "1906." The crab was the 1906 class animal.
A 1907 class ring made of 14k gold. The head of the ring is a dark green, oval stone with a sea turtle engraved in the center with the class year above and a Greek word below. The turtle was the 1907 class animal. The engravings on the stone are backward, indicating the ring was also used as a seal. The ring comes with a box (RG8-M5-007b).
The box the 1907 class ring came in. The bottom of the box specifies the ring was made by Charles I. Clegg in Philadelphia.
A 1908 class ring with a gold-colored band. The head of the ring is a light blue, oval stone with a crane and the class year engraved in the center. The crane was the 1908 class animal. The engravings on the stone are backward, indicating the ring was also used as a seal.
A 1909 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is a red, oval stone with a bird and the class year engraved in the stone. To see a better image of the bird see the 1909 Bryn Mawr class yearbook cover. The bird could possibly be a phoenix. The bird is a reference to the 1909 class animal. All over the ring band is a scale-like design, further suggesting the animal depicted to be a phoenix. The engravings on the stone are backward, indicating the ring was also used as a seal.
A 1912 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is a light blue, oval stone with a stylized butterfly design and class year. The 1912 class yearbook has the same stylized butterfly design inside the cover because the butterfly was the 1912 class animal. The ring also comes with a note, potentially identifying the ring's owner as Jane Beardwood. The engravings on the stone are backward, indicating the ring was also used as a seal.
Jane Beardwood was an alumna from the class of 1912. After graduating, she spent a year in Tours, France before retuning to the US to teach French a various schools and universities. She completed her doctorate in Modern Foreign Literature in 1928 from the University of Pennsylvania and briefly taught at Swarthmore College. She was the older sister of alumna Alice Beardwood '17.
A note that came with the 1912 ring. It says that the ring is from 1912 and has the name Jane Beardwood, an alumna from the class of 1912.
1913 class animal. The inside of the ring band has the initials M. L. M. indicating that this could be the class ring of alumna Marguerite Louis Mellen (Dewey). The engravings on the stone are backward, indicating the ring was also used as a seal.A 1913 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is a red, oval stone with an engraving of a rooster surrounded by a Greek phrase. The rooster was the
Marguerite Mellen was an alumna from the class of 1913. Notably, during the measles outbreak in 1913, Mellen chose to stay at Bryn Mawr even as many of her classmates decided to seek refuge at home. After graduating, Mellen married Bradely Dewey in 1915 and had several children with him. She spent a good amount of her time working with the Bryn Mawr Club of Boston, including being the chairwoman of several local scholarship committees. She passed away in 1974.
A 1914 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is a dark blue, round stone. The top and sides of the ring band are carved to resemble a bird's beak and wings stretched out. The bird design is a reference to the 1914 class animal. The inside of the ring band has the initials H. B. B. engraved, indicating that the ring might have belonged to alumna Helen. B. Brooks (Wiggins).
Helen B. Brooks was a member of the class of 1914, although she left the college after two years. She married Lewis Wiggins in 1916.
A 1915 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is a green, oval stone. Each side of the ring band depicts a hummingbird with its wings spread out. The hummingbird was the 1915 class animal. The inside of the ring band has the initials C. S. on them, which indicates it could be a number of different alumna including Cecelia V. Sargent, Cleora Sutch, Catherine Simpson (Andrews), or Clarissa Smith (Ware).
A 1916 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is a light blue stone. The ring band has a unique design with semi-circle embellishments that resemble oyster shells along the outside of the band. The oyster shell design may be a reference to the 1916 class animal. The inside of the ring band has the initials L. M. K. indicating that it could have been the owner of alumna Larie Maee Klein (Boas).
Larie Mae Klein was an alumna from the class of 1916. During her time at Bryn Mawr, she was on the Scenery Committee, a group of 5 people who oversaw storing and keeping track of class scenery and props, likely for the class plays that used to be performed. After graduating, she briefly worked at the Foreign Bureau in New York city. In 1920, she married Benajmin Boas and moved to live with him in San Francisco. She spent her subsequent years taking care of her children and visiting the East coast, where most of her friends lived.
A 1916 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring has a light blue stone. The ring band has a unique design with semi-circle embellishments that resemble oyster shells along the outside of the band. The ring's design has been worn off from heavy use. To see a more intact version of the ring, see RG8-M5-016 (another 1916 class ring). The inside of the ring band has mostly been worn away, but there remains an F. initial that seems to indicate the first name.
A 1917 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is a rectangular, red stone with the a dragon in the center. The dragon was the 1917 class animal. To see a better-quality version of the ring design, see the 1917 class yearbook. The inside of the ring band has the initials R. J. L. indicating the owner could have been alumna Ruth Levy (Weigle). The engravings on the stone are backward, indicating the ring was also used as a seal.
Ruth J. Levy (Weigle) was an alumna from the class of 1917. She was the daughter of a well-respected rabbi in Pittsburgh, Dr. Joseph Levy. During her time at Bryn Mawr, she was an active member of the college's tennis team. After graduation, she married Leon Falk Sr. sometime in the early 1920s. Levy was widowed in 1928. She later re-married to Jean-Jacques Weigle, a Swiss professor at the University of Pittsburgh, in 1931. The couple moved back to Switzerland soon after marrying. Ruth Levy passed away in 1935 due to pneumonia in Switzerland.
A 1918 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is an oval, white stone. Around the stone is a thin, dark-blue oval-shaped band, indicating the class color.
A 1920 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is an oval, white stone. The ring is ornate with several leaves carved into the top of the ring band framing the stone.
A 1921 class ring with a 14k gold band. The head of the ring is a large, flat red stone with the depiction of an unidentified building in the center.
A class ring with a 14k gold band, donated by. The head of the ring is a large, flat red stone with the depiction of the Bryn Mawr College seal engraved in it.