Happy New Year! Party like you’re in a Fellini movie!

In October 1973, the Friends of the Davison Art Center held a Fellini Ball, a fundraising event that took place in the newly-completed Center for the Arts. The inspiration was the work of the great Italian director Federico Fellini, whose iconic works include La Strada, 8 1/2, and La Dolce Vita. Guests attended as their favorite … Read more

New finding aids completed in SC&A

As part of my internship at SC&A I created finding aids for three collections. The most notable among these is the finding aid for a collection that I processed during my internship dealing with Wesleyan President James L. McConaughy, his wife Elizabeth, and son James Jr. The collection entitled, McConaughy Family Papers, details important aspects … Read more

Pick of the week, May 15: A Spatial History of Wesleyan University

A Spatial History of Wesleyan University combines geographical and quantitative analysis with archival and oral history research to interpret the past in place. It is the product of the Spring 2015 course in Digital History at Wesleyan taught by Visiting Assistant Professor of History Amrys O. Williams, part of the university’s Digital and Computational Knowledge … Read more

Pick of the week, May 24: Hall Laboratory of Chemistry

The Hall Laboratory of Chemistry is shown in the above photograph taken around the early 1930s. It was situated directly across from Olin Library on Church Street and the two buildings were designed by Henry Bacon (whose papers are held by SC&A), sharing architectural elements. Constructed from 1925 to 1927, it was demolished in late … Read more

Pick of the week, May 3: La Dernière Classe–Chem I, 1916

In the “Chemistry Dept. 1832-1968” vertical file, you’ll find this document. The caption reads: The chemistry lecture room in old Judd Hall. Prof. M.L. “Mose” Crosley was lecturing on the last day of classes prior to the final exam. The device at the right moved a huge roll of wrapping paper by means of the … Read more