Elizabethan Club
Encyclopedia
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
named for Queen Elizabeth I and her era. Its profile and members tend toward a literary disposition, and conversation is one of the Club's chief purposes.
The Elizabethan Club's collection of 16th and 17th Century books and artifacts include Shakespearean folios
Folios and Quartos (Shakespeare)
The earliest texts of William Shakespeare's works were published during the 16th and 17th centuries in quarto or folio format. Folios are large, tall volumes; quartos are smaller, roughly half the size...
and quartos
Folios and Quartos (Shakespeare)
The earliest texts of William Shakespeare's works were published during the 16th and 17th centuries in quarto or folio format. Folios are large, tall volumes; quartos are smaller, roughly half the size...
, first editions of Milton's
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
, Spenser
Spenser
Spenser is an alternative spelling of the British surname Spencer. It may refer to:Geographical places with the name Spenser:* Spenser Ecological District in New Zealand* Spenser Mountains, a range in the northern part of South Island, New Zealand...
's Faerie Queene, and Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Albans, KC was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England...
's Essayes, all locked in the Club's famous vault. The collection is only available for inspection at certain times, or to researchers upon request at Yale's Beinecke Library . Tea is served daily during the semester and members may invite guests on specified days. The Club accepts male and female undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff.
History
Alexander Smith Cochran
Alexander Smith Cochran was a wealthy manufacturer, sportsman and philathropist from Yonkers, New York.-Biography:He was the son of Willam F. Cochran and grandson of Alexander Smith, founder of the Alexander Smith Carpet Company....
, a member of the Yale Class of 1896 and Wolf's Head Society
Wolf's Head (secret society)
Wolf's Head Society is an undergraduate senior or secret society at Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Membership is recomposed annually of fifteen or sixteen Yale University students, typically juniors from the college...
who, as an undergraduate, had regretted the lack of a congenial atmosphere in which to discuss literature and the arts with classmates and faculty. In 1910 he began to assemble a small but brilliant collection of first and early editions of the Elizabethan and Jacobean plays that he had studied with William Lyon Phelps
William Lyon Phelps
William Lyon Phelps was an American author, critic and scholar. He taught the first American university course on the modern novel. He was a well-known speaker who drew large crowds...
, and in 1911 he offered the collection to Yale as the central point of interest for a club where conversation –and tea—would be available every afternoon. Mr. Cochran also provided a Clubhouse, with quarters for a resident steward, and a generous endowment of $100,000. His portrait hangs above the fireplace in the Vault Room, and his birthday (28 February) is marked by an annual Founder’s Dinner. The life portrait of the Virgine Queene in the Tea Room, attributed to Federico Zuccari
Federico Zuccari
Federico Zuccari, also known as Federigo Zuccaro , was an Italian Mannerist painter and architect, active both in Italy and abroad.-Biography:Zuccari was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino ....
, came with the founder’s original gift. Began during the literary renaissance at the university between 1909 and 1920, the club attracted such book collectors as Phelps
William Lyon Phelps
William Lyon Phelps was an American author, critic and scholar. He taught the first American university course on the modern novel. He was a well-known speaker who drew large crowds...
, Chauncey Brewster Tinker, and John Berdan
John Berdan
John Berdan was the first mayor of Toledo, Ohio...
.
Ben Jonson
Benjamin Jonson was an English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor. A contemporary of William Shakespeare, he is best known for his satirical plays, particularly Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair, which are considered his best, and his lyric poems...
Works (1616) inscribed by the author to his friend Francis Young. Over the years additional volumes of equal importance, such as first or early quartos of all the major dramatists, have been acquired by gift and purchase, and the entire collection now numbers around 300 volumes. A catalogue of this collection, The Elizabethan Club of Yale University and Its Library, prepared by Yale's Stephen Parks, was published in 1986. The vault also contains a few manuscripts (for example, a letter of condolence from Queen Elizabeth to her friend Lady Southwell, 15 October 1598), some contemporary medals (one celebrating the defeat of the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
in 1588), and several miscellaneous objects (a lock of Byron’s hair; a snuff box carved from a mulberry tree planted by Shakespeare at New Place, his home at Stratford; and a guest book signed by many of the Club's visitors).
Documents relating to the club's organization and activities, including a tradition of formal correspondence written in Latin to the Signet Society
Signet society
The Signet Society of Harvard University was founded in 1870 by members of the class of 1871. The first president was Charles Joseph Bonaparte. It was, at first, dedicated to the production of literary work only, going so far as to exclude debate and even theatrical productions. According to The...
at Harvard, are viewable at the online Yale Manuscripts and Archives Collection:
Activity
The club is dedicated to conversation, tea, the art of the book, and literature, focused on—but not exclusively of—the Elizabethan era. During the academic year the Clubhouse is open daily for the use of its members from 8 in the morning until 10 in the evening. Tea is served every afternoon during termtime from 4 until 6. A 1920 observer noted among "certain hopeful signs of the times , current British and American periodicals are neatly lined up on tables, configurations of other little tables, sofas and chairs provide many nooks for quiet discussion or reading, and upstairs even includes a room dedicated almost entirely to archives of PunchPunch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
, the former English magazine of humor and satire. Outside, the club has a deep back garden with a pavilion, understated elegant plantings, and featuring a bust of the Bard himself, to facilitate the enjoyments of finger sandwiches, cookies and croquet.
From time to time, the Club sponsors special events such as Club Nights with a speaker and discussion; seasonal parties and teas; and an annual lecture honoring Maynard Mack (1909-2001), former president of the Club, longtime faculty member and illustrious Shakespeare scholar. Mack lecturers have included Joanne Akalaitis
JoAnne Akalaitis
JoAnne Akalaitis is an American theatre director and a writer and the winner of five Obie Awards for direction and founder of the critically acclaimed Mabou Mines in New York, from which she resigned after twenty years in June 1990.Akalaitis was pre-med and studied philosophy in college...
, John Barton
John Barton
John Barton may refer to:* John Barton , English theatre director and founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Company* John Barton , engineer noted for his engravings using his Ruling Engine...
, Tony Church, Lisa Harrow
Lisa Harrow
Lisa Harrow is an actress, noted for her roles in British theatre, films and television.- Early life :Harrow was born in Auckland and attended Auckland University...
, Michael Kahn
Michael Kahn (theatre director)
Michael Kahn is the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C., USA. He held the position of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School from 1992 to 2006....
, Mark Lamos
Mark Lamos
Mark Lamos is an American theatre and opera director, producer and actor. Under his direction, Hartford Stage won the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and he has been nominated for two other Tonys...
, Carey Perloff, Michael Billington
Michael Billington (critic)
Michael Keith Billington is a British author and arts critic. Drama critic of The Guardian since October 1971, he is "Britain's longest-serving theatre critic" and the author of biographical and critical studies relating to British theatre and the arts; most notably, he is the authorised...
and Sam Waterston
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...
.
The club also has underwritten the production of a small series of books, published by the Yale University Press.. Indeed, publishing specialized works relating to the Club's mission has been a practice dating back to its early years.
Membership
Membership in the Elizabethan Club, by invitation only, includes undergraduates (15 members are elected per class year; however, freshmen are not admitted; accordingly there are at most 45 current undergraduates at any time), graduate students, University staff, and faculty. The affairs of the Club are managed by a self-perpetuating Board of Incorporators (6 members of the University) that meets twice a year in October and May and by an elected Board of Governors that meets monthly. It is not a 'final society,' in that membership in another Yale secret society, association or club is not a bar to also having club membership.Architecture
- The Elizabethan Club is housed in a landmarked well-preserved FederalFederal architectureFederal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the United States between c. 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815. This style shares its name with its era, the Federal Period. The name Federal style is also used in association with furniture design...
building, the Leverett Griswold House, built circa 1775 and renovated between 1810-1815 and 1995-1996. It was previously owned successively by the Leverett Griswold and Wilbur Gilbert families.
- Kenneth Boroson, AIA, of Kenneth Boroson Architects, LLC..." designed an addition and rear garden in 1995-1996.
- Architectural historian Patrick Pinnell in his 1999 history of Yale's campus says this "crisp little white house... shows off an early example of a gableGableA gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
fronting the street, rather than being turned parallel to it... predicting the temple-front individuality of Greek Revival..." It provides the only remaining Federal-era aspect on this stretch of College Street, one that Pinnell discusses as having been in the mid 19th century a residential street.
- The clubhouse, acquired by the founder in 1911, bears National Historic, State Historic and City Historic designations.
Books
- The Lizzie informally fosters appreciation for the Art of the Book and of fine printing and typography, befitting a campus with a number of working old fashioned undergraduate presses.
- Guests sign in upon entering; consequently, the Lizzie's collection of these guestbooks includes autographs of prominent literary, arts, and other prominent figures who have visited. Among these are Theodore RooseveltTheodore RooseveltTheodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, Edward HeathEdward HeathSir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
, Robert FrostRobert FrostRobert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
, (a frequent visitor) Bertrand RussellBertrand RussellBertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, Joseph ConradJoseph ConradJoseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
, W.B. Yeats, Eva Le GallienneEva Le GallienneEva Le Gallienne was a well-known actress, producer, and director, during the first half of the 20th century.-Early life and early career:...
, Diana RiggDiana RiggDame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, DBE is an English actress. She is probably best known for her portrayals of Emma Peel in The Avengers and Countess Teresa di Vicenzo in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service....
, Allen GinsbergAllen GinsbergIrwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, William Carlos WilliamsWilliam Carlos WilliamsWilliam Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, and Kenneth BranaghKenneth BranaghKenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
. - On the second floor, the Map Room contains a collection of books about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan period, most of them published in the middle of the twentieth century. In the Study Room there are bound copies of Punch from 1847 to 1985, and in the Governors Room numerous bound sets of British and European authors, plus a small collection of books presented to the Club by authors who are members.
Notable members
- Club founder Alexander Smith Cochran, heir to a carpet manufacturer, led an eventful life. Referred to on the eve of his 'secret' marriage to the Polish opera singer Mme. Ganna Walska as "New York's Richest Bachelor" , within a short period, he was contesting the marriage (he was her third of six husbands) as illegal, claiming her first husband was still living when Cochran married her, and they separated. Cochran's exploits socially, financially and in sailing (he headed Americas Cup syndicates) were widely covered in newspapers of the day.
- Cole PorterCole PorterCole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, a member himself, made reference to the Club in two of his songs: "A Member of the Yale Elizabethan Club", a satirical description of a self-absorbed "Lizzie" member, and "Since We've Met," in which he satirizes a prudish couple, writing "We shrink at any oath except a soft 'Beelzebub.' / We're out-Elizabething the Elizabethan Club."
Additional reading
- Founder Alexander Smith Cochran
- Holden, Reuben A., Yale: A Pictorial History, Yale University Press, New Haven and London. 1967.
- Purchase of the Huth Portfolio
- Parks, Stephen, The Elizabethan Club of Yale University and Its Library Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1986.
- Havens, Earle, Gloriana: Monuments and Memorials of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I (New Haven: The Elizabethan Club, 2006).
- Newton, Alfred Edward. A Magnificent Farce: And Other Diversions of a Book-collector. Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921. p 125.