Item 103: Bookplate, Queen’s University, 1917
Item — Box: 20, Folder: 103
Dates
- Created: 1917
Creator
- Fisher, William Edgar, 1872-1956 (Person)
Disclaimer for Name and Subject Authorities
Some of the name and subject authority tags have been assigned by educated guessing and estimation of persons and subjects by region, age, profession, and familial relationships. They have been thoroughly researched by using primary and secondary sources available digitally, and named in each description, or in some cases linked directly to the person tag.
Access:
All series and subseries within this collection are open for research, with the exception of a few files within the Academia series that are restricted. The Academia series contains financial and sensitive institutional records from Wilkes College, and financial report records from Princeton University that will remain restricted for 80 years upon creation.
Extent
1 items
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Type of Material:
Bookplate
Condition Note:
Good, no issues.
Measurements:
4 ⅞ in. x 3 ½ in.
Title:
Queen’s University Kingston Canada
Description:
A bookplate of Queen’s University with the text, “Sapientia, Et Doctrina, Stabilitas” at the top which translates to “Wisdom, learning, and stability.” Around the image of the building there are two statues of saints. Below the statues there is text that reads “By pureness, by knowledge.” Below the image there are books and a lamp, and text that reads “Gift of the class of 1917.” “Queen’s University is a public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. They own 3,500 acres of land throughout Ontario and Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England. Queen’s is organized into eight different facilities and schools.” Queen’s University started in 1841 after it was given a royal charter by Queen Victoria. Its first courses were hosted on March 7, 1842, “with only thirteen students and two professors.” “In 1869, Queen’s became the first Canadian University west of the Maritime Provinces to admit women.” In 1883, a medical school that was related to Queen’s was started after male students and faculty didn’t take women being allowed too well. They have more than 33,842 students and 131,000 alumni across the world. “Notable alumni include government officials, academics, business leaders and 57 Rhodes Scholars. As of 2022, five Nobel Laureates and one Turing Award winner have been affiliated with the university.” Queen’s happened because the university was tired of the Presbyterian’s plan for education in the 1830s. A work in progress plan for the school was shown at a “synod meeting” in Kingston in 1839, with a different bill shown to the 13th Parliament of Upper Canada in 1840. “On 16 October 1841, a royal charter was introduced through Queen Victoria establishing Queen’s College at Kingston.” Another reason Queen’s happened was because the Presbyterians had been trying to find a college to teach ministers different types of science and literature. It was made to look like the University of Edinburgh and the University of Glasgow. Classes commenced on March 7, 1842 with only two teachers and fifteen students. The school relocated to many different places over the first eleven years that it was open before deciding on their current place. Before the Canadian Confederation happened, Scotland’s Presbyterian Church, Canada’s government and people who lived in Canada gave money to the school. Post-Confederation, Canada’s government stopped giving money to the school, and they lost sixty-seven percent of their endowment. The school was saved by the Principal, William Snodgrass, who raised money across Canada. They were scared of being destroyed monetarily until the last ten years of the last decade. They had thought about leaving and collaborating with the University of Toronto through the 1880s. With the money they had from Robert Sutherland, one of their first big donors, they averted a monetary disaster. “Queen’s was given University Status on May 17, 1881. In 1880, three women made it into one of the medical classes, but they were kicked out of the school three years later because of how badly the male students acted. A medical school for women was started so they could finish their classes. “Theological Hall, completed in 1880, originally served as the Queen's main building throughout the late 19th century.” In 1912, Queen’s stopped working with the Presbyterian Church of Scotland and got their name. Queen’s Theological College was in charge of the Presbyterian Church of Canada until 1925 when it collaborated with the Church of Canada. “The theological college merged with the Queen’s department of religious studies and the program closed in 2015.” Bookplate creator William Edgar Fisher was born in Wellsville, N.Y. on October 24, 1872. He attended Phillips, Andover Academy, and Cornell University. He was a well known artist, advertiser, and bookplate designer and was a former president of the American Book Plate Society. He became an art editor of Judge magazine during the early 1920s. Additionally, Fisher was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution and the Society of Colonial Wars. He was also a member of the Players of New York City. He died at the age of 84 in 1956. To see other bookplates created by William Edgar Fisher, please visit Yale University’s archive and finding aids here.
Location:
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Creator
- Fisher, William Edgar, 1872-1956 (Person)
Repository Details
Part of the Wilkes University Archives Repository
Contact:
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu
84 W South St.
Wilkes-Barre PA 18701 US
570-408-2000
570-408-7823 (Fax)
ask.archives@wilkes.edu