Grouping of Six (6) Original Photographs Documenting "Poverty Day" at Penn State University
[State College, Pennsylvania]: 1919-1920. "Poverty Day" was a light-hearted tradition at Penn State University that required incoming freshmen to parade around campus for the day in thread-bare clothing. The present six (6) photographs convey the jovial atmosphere and good times had by all. One photo of Poverty Day 1920 has been captioned in contemporary blue ink, "A Bold Freshman"; it shows a cheeky young man in Poverty Day dress panhandling amongst a group of what appears to be faculty or administrators. Students are shown leap frogging around campus, piled atop each other as "scrambled eggs", and parading in front of what appears to be a school-wide assembly. A couple of the photos have pencil inscriptions on their versos: "Penn State fashion parade a great success. A great variety of gowns were displayed. Many people think the [venue] is a little too well ventilated for fall wear. But no matter how fastidious ones tastes may be, they were sure to have them met."
Each measures approx. 5.75" by 3.5". Contemporary inscriptions in blue ink and pencil.
Price: $225.00
Item #22000532