Objects Collection

Collection

Identifier: RG 35

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Objects Collection comprises over 500 objects as of 2024, most of which are not associated with another record group or personal paper group. All of the objects have been photographed and described for an image database at http://cdm15963.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/objects. This image database, titled the Archives Museum Collection, also holds digital surrogates for RG 40, Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Other Framed Items.

It is difficult to pinpoint the oldest item in the Objects Collection, which includes a crosscut of the “Historic Elm” which stood on the site of what became the Oberlin Colony when its founders purportedly prayed under it in 1833. The crosscut was taken in 1965, when the elm succumbed to Dutch elm disease. The collection also holds a wooden box made from timbers from Tappan Hall, an early college dormitory and instructional building built in 1836 and demolished in 1885.

Most of the items in the collection were donated by alums and date from their time as Oberlin College students or from alumni reunions. The collection holds trophies, banners, clothing, buttons, medallions, hand presses for seals, glassware, ephemera, canes, umbrellas, and other memorabilia. New objects are added to the collection, and to the image database, every year.

Dates

Creation: ca. 1830s-2024

Creator

various (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Some restrictions may apply.

Extent

107.06 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Accruals and Additions

See image database at http://cdm15963.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/objects.

Related Materials

Related materials are noted in the metadata for each object in the image database. Objects can also be found in other record groups and personal paper groups.