Call Number

BC 15.6

Extent

One custom box; .8 linear feet

Silhouette Sketch from the Edith Somborn Scrapbook. Image courtesy of the Barnard College Archives.

Abstract

The Edith Somborn Scrapbook dates from 1903-circa 1906.  It contains materials both personal and relating to the operation of undergraduate life at Barnard College, especially Barnard Bulletin columns and theater programs.

Biographical Note

Edith Somborn was born on June 18th, 1884.  Somborn entered Barnard in 1902 as a zoology major.  Somborn co-wrote the comic operetta “Barnardesia” with her classmate Blanche Marks.  It made the case for Barnard dormitories, and Somborn invited the Board of Directors to the performance.  Soon after, an anonymous donor gave funds for the first dormitory. After her graduation in 1906, Somborn remained an extremely active member of the Barnard community, acting as the chairman of the Barnard Fund Alumnae Committee, presenting the history of the class of 1906 at the 50th reunion in 1956, and corresponding with President Martha Peterson.  Somborn married Stanley M. Isaacs in 1910, taking his last name and control of his political campaigns (Isaacs served as Manhattan Borough President and as a Republican representative on the City Council.) She was a board member of the Women’s City Club of New York. Somborn died on May 7th, 1978.

Description

Edith Somborn, class of 1906, was extremely involved in all aspects of undergraduate life at Barnard, and her scrapbook reflects this.  Somborn was the associate editor of the “Barnard Bulletin” for the class of 1906, worked as a student manager of the Barnard fund, participated in theatrical productions, was secretary of the Barnard Zoological club, and helped produce and edit the “Mortarboard.”  The scrapbook contains programs from productions, articles from the “Barnard Bulletin” (both in media res of the editing process and the final published version), event invitations, personal correspondence detailing the planning processes of various Barnard events, dance cards, and doodles from class notebooks.  Highlights of the scrapbook include a bulls-eye for handgun target practice, a draft of a 1906 plea for donations to the Barnard fund, and a draft of a Sherlock Holmes-inspired satire piece for the 1905 “Mortarboard.”  The Edith Somborn scrapbook needs conservation.

The scrapbook is arranged in a single bound volume chronologically.

Access

This scrapbook is restricted pending conservation treatment.
The scrapbook is located on-site.

Restrictions on Use and Copyright Information

Single photocopies may be made for research purposes.  Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard College Archives.  The Barnard College Archives approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Location

Barnard College Archives
Lehman Hall, Room 19
3009 Broadway
New York, NY  10027