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Eunomian Literary Society Records
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Held at: Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College [Contact Us]500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 19081
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore 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
The Eunomian Literary Society was founded at Swarthmore College in 1871. It was a men's student organization dedicated to developing its members' debating skills and encouraging their mutual improvement in literature and the cultivation of fellowship and good feeling, according to the group's constitution.
At their regular meetings, the Eunomians debated contemporary issues, gave impromptu speeches, read poetry and short stories by famous authors, and occasionally played musical instruments. The group founded a library in 1874 that subscribed to a number of magazines such as Life, The Saturday Evening Post, and Ladies Home Journal. It was active on campus, holding debates with the Somerville and Delphic literary societies, and from 1871 to 1913, the group held meetings regularly. It published a journal, The Eunomian. In 1913, the group merged with the Delphic Society to form the Athenaeum.
According to the records of the group's rivals, the Delphic Literary Society, the Eunomian Literary Society was originally called the Eurodelphian Literary Society. The name was changed sometime after the fall of 1873 to Eunomian, which means under good laws.
Consists of the records of the Eunomian Literary Society, including minutes from its founding in 1871 to May 1913. Also includes printed copies of the constitution and by-laws (1889 and 1897 editions), as well as correspondence from 1872 to 1900.
Organized into three series:
- Constitution and By-Laws
- Minutes
- Correspondence
Donor: Eunomian Literary Society
Records were deposited at Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College, date unknown. Sorted, rehoused, and a new finding aid created in 2003.
Issues of the Eunomian, 1883-1884, stored in RG 6/A10/Student Publication.
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College
- Finding Aid Author
- Finding Aid Prepared by FHL staff
- Finding Aid Date
- 2007
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Friends Historical Library believes all of the items in this collection to be in the Public Domain in the United States, and is not aware of any restrictions on their use. However, the user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status before reproducing. See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0/.
Collection Inventory
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