Back in black (and orange)

It doesn't have to be Halloween for this campus to be awash in orange and black: almost every student has a Princeton hoodie, t-shirt or scarf to their name. But orange-and-black toothbrushes?

For its 35th reunion, the class of 1904 created a special reunion toothbrush. This toothbrush and other class spirit memorabilia are now on display at the Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, as part of an exhibit titled "Going Back in Orange and Black."

Each spring, from Alumni Day through Reunions weekend, Mudd Library displays alumni memorabilia focusing on a given theme. In the past, themes have included University traditions and outlandish class costumes. This year, the exhibit focuses on the accessories worn during the P-rade at Reunions.

"Of the displays I've been here for, this one is particularly vivid," Christie Lutz, a University archivist who helped organize the display, said. "I think that has been a big part of its success so far, just the overall look of it."

The display consists of five cases, each specially created by an archivist at Mudd Library.

An entire case is devoted to class pins and ribbons. Though older pins and ribbons included only class years, as time went on they started to include more design. Sometimes, the names of individual class members were added for easy identification. A picture of Jimmy Stewart '32 at his 50th reunion shows him wearing his personalized pin. A picture of Brooke Shields '87 from her Princeton days hangs directly above a class of 1987 pin.

Another case is devoted to class hats. From the Class of 1935's 28th reunion straw hat to a helmet for the Class of 1914's 20th reunion, these hats have varied considerably over time. A colorful Class of 1958 visor signed by Stewart is also on display.

Other cases are devoted to reunion jackets and the 25th and 50th anniversary classes.

"My favorite item is probably Adlai Stevenson's ['22] reunion jacket," Lutz said.

Also in the reunion jackets case is the jacket worn by members of the Class of 1970, whose Class Day ceremony coincided with the return of the 17-year cicadas. All their memorabilia, including a temporary tattoo, include representations of the insect.

A miscellaneous case also includes a Class of 1916 cigarette pack from its 45th reunion and the class of 1904 toothbrush.

But why a toothbrush?

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"They used to make class liquor bottles. So they'd have these well-known distillers design liquor bottles, but instead of their label they'd put a class label on them," Aaron Pickett, who works at Mudd and helped to design the exhibit, said. "I guess after drinking all that liquor, you needed to use the toothbrush to brush your teeth."

This miscellaneous case also has a cluster of small tiger claws.

"The Class of 1894 wanted to encourage alumni to come back. It came up with the idea of the 'Society of the Claw,' " Lutz said. "The claws were given out at intervals of important reunions. If you came back, you got a little real tiger claw that you could wear around."

The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday and until 7:45 p.m. on Wednesdays. Thus far, most of the visitors have been alumni, with many more expected during Reunions weekend.

"It would be cool to have more students come look at it," Lutz said. "Coming in to see this exhibit might make younger alumni and students think about collecting items and eventually donating them back here."