I was recently asked a question about RPI memorabilia so I thought I would share an example of what we have in our collection. We receive donations from alums, their families and other generous people.  We also regularly troll Ebay looking for RPI related material to add to our collections. (BTW, we NEVER sell anything on ebay!!) We've been able to acquire commencement programs, sports media guides, photographs and memorabilia. A fun item that we purchased this past year is the silver bracelet pictured below.

It's funny how two unrelated people can look so similar. You may have noticed from some of the comments about the mystery images, that their identity can easily be mistaken. A faithful and helpful reader of this blog pointed out to me (offline ;) ) that one of the images in my last post was not the same person as the other two images. Once I had a name for the photo below — Dr. Ivor Preiss — I could compare it to other photographs in our collection. He was right and I have egg on my face!

I have two different views of this prof for you to consider and therefore two photos that need to be filed in the right place. The computer in the first view may help place him in time. I was curious about the sign below the prof in the computer picture so I enlarged it and it reads: IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF YOU OBVIOUSLY ARE INCAPABLE OF USING THIS COMPUTER SO GET OFF IT! (OR LEARN TO LEAVE A CLEAN WORKSPACE BEHIND)

I kind of have a feeling that I should know who this guy is -- but I don't. Architecture -- got that. Professor -- check. If it's obvious to everyone but me, then so be it. Let the comments roll! How about that pointer -- doesn't it seem a little out of proportion? Maybe everything looks bigger next to a small scale model!

This photo really intrigues me! In all of my RPI history travels, which includes extensive research for exhibits on student clubs and student traditions, I haven't found an explanation for this image. I hope I stumble across something someday that will help me identify this curiously dressed group of men! I'm dying to know what they were up to. Was this an early LARP club?!

Finals week is coming to an end, and from my vantage point (limited as it may be), it has been very quiet on campus this week. It definitely feels like the semester is winding down. On the job, I often live in the past ;) and today I wondered how very different it must have been here 38 years ago this week in May.

This is a two-for-one special — ID this person and two unidentified photos find a home! The first photo brings back bad memories of organic chemistry. The 3D molecules that he's holding didn't help me at all. There are some more clues in the second photo. We see a chemistry lab nicely staged with students doing experiments, including a woman with hair and socks that look like trends of the late '80s — which coincidentally was the era when I dropped organic chemistry. :) Who is this prof who kindly shows us what he looks like with and without glasses?

Every month or so, I select an image to feature on our home page, and today I chose a picture of the 1948 lacrosse team. The fun fact about this team is that they represented the United States in a demonstration game against England in the 1948 Summer Olympics. So the match was essentially RPI vs. England.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for another round of Mystery Image! There is still a thick folder of unidentified photographs on my desk so let's get to it! My best guess about this prof is that he is/was in the School of Engineering.  I like the self-satisfied, arms crossed pose. Do you recognize him? If so, click on Comments and ring in —  wait, that's another show —  type in?!

There are several centennials to mark this year at RPI, so I've been doing a lot of research in the period 1907 to 1909. I just installed a new exhibit in the Folsom Library titled Russell Sage Laboratory 100 Years: A Glance Back at the Beginning. One hundred years ago this month, ground was broken for the construction of Russell Sage Laboratory. Funding for the new building was made possible through a $1 million gift from Margaret Olivia Sage.