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Orange Owl, 1920-1928

By Finding aid prepared by Elizabeth Nielsen.

Collection Overview

Title: Orange Owl, 1920-1928

ID: PUB 010-13c

Primary Creator: Hammer and Coffin National Honorary Society. Orange Owl Chapter

Extent: 0.35 cubic feet. More info below.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

Abstract

The Orange Owl was a college humor magazine published by the Orange Owl Chapter of the Hammer and Coffin National Honorary Society at Oregon Agricultural College during the 1920s. The magazine included humorous and satirical pieces as well as cartoons and pen sketches created by students.

Items from this collection have been digitized and are available online.

Scope and Content Notes

The Orange Owl was a college humor magazine published by the Orange Owl Chapter of the Hammer and Coffin National Honorary Society at Oregon Agricultural College during the 1920s. The magazine included humorous and satirical pieces as well as cartoons and pen sketches created by students. Five or six issues were published per academic year beginning with volume 3 in 1921-1922. Most issues are 32 pages; as many as 3000 copies were printed and distributed on campus and in the Corvallis community.

The purpose of the magazine was to promote creative talent among students in humorous writing as well as cartooning and sketching. The magazines include poems, jokes, short humorous stories, satire, plays, limericks, cartoons, sketches, and colorful covers. All issues include local and national advertisements. Some material was reprinted by Orange Owl also reprinted exchanges from college comic magazines published by other chapters of the Hammer and Coffin Society.

In 1923 and 1927, women students had full responsibility for publishing one issue of the magazine.

This collection includes 43 issues of the magazine, all of which are available online. The collection includes duplicate copies of many issues; however, one issue (volume 2, no. 3 for May 1921) is only available on microfilm and online.

Biographical / Historical Notes

The first issue of the Orange Owl promoted creative talents among students in wit, humor, cartooning, and sketching. A broad representation of OAC students were involved in writing, editing, and publishing of the magazine. In the 1926-1927 academic year, more than 40 students contributed materials and more than 35 worked on the managerial and circulation staffs. The magazine was funded by advertising as well as subscriptions.

M. Ellwood Smith and Edwin T. Reed served as faculty advisors for the publication and were referred to in some issues as the "Shock Absorbers".

According to the 1928 Beaver yearbook, "... the Orange Owl represents the fun and frolic of the students and shows that college life is more than a wearisome grind. It might be called the carnival representative of Oregon State".

The Hammer and Coffin Society originated at Stanford University to promote literary and artistic talents of students as expressed in wit and humor. In the mid 1910s, the Society transformed into a national collegiate humor organization with 25 chapters.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 1 box; 1 microfilm reel

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: Issues of the Orange Owl were received by the Library as they were published in the 1920s; copies held in the Special Collections Vault Collection were transferred to the University Archives in 2010 and combined with paper and microfilmed copies to form one collection which is now held in the Special Collections & Archives Research Center.

Related Materials:

Photographs of members of the Orange Owl Chapter of the Hammer and Coffin Society are available in the News and Communication Services Photograph Collection (P 057) and Harriet's Photograph Collection (P HC). The Special Collections and Archives Research Center's collections include other humor and parody publications including the Beaver Dam, published in the 1950s-1960s; and the Civil War Football Game Newspapers (PUB 399).

See also: The Orange Owl Digital Collection, keyword searchable and available in full.

Preferred Citation: Orange Owl (PUB 010-13c), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Creators

Hammer and Coffin National Honorary Society. Orange Owl Chapter
Orange Owl Club (Oregon Agricultural College)

People, Places, and Topics

College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
College wit and humor
Hammer and Coffin National Honorary Society. Orange Owl Chapter
Local History
Orange Owl Club (Oregon Agricultural College)
Oregon Agricultural College--Periodicals.
Oregon State Agricultural College--Periodicals.
Student publications--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History


Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Orange Owl, 1920-1928
All issues but one are available in paper and on microfilm; one issue (volume 2, no. 3 for May 1921) is only available on microfilm. The titles for individual issues are given below. Issues with more than one paper copy in the collection are indicated below by the number of copies. A link to the online version of each issue is provided.
Box-Folder 1.1: Junior Week-End (volume 1, no. 1), May 1920
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.2: Come Back Number (volume 2, no. 1), November 1920
Box-Folder 1.3: Rainy Day Number (volume 2, no. 2), March 1921
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.4: Orange Owl (volume 3, no. 1), October 1921
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.5: Christmas Number (volume 3, no. 2), December 1921
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.6: Orange Owl (volume 3, no. 3), February 1922
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.7: Hard Times Number (volume 3, no. 4), March 1922
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.8: Love Number (volume 3, no. 5), April 1922
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.9: Junior Weekend (volume 3, no. 6), May 1922
Box-Folder 1.10: "Something New" Number (volume 4, no. 1), October 1922
Box-Folder 1.11: Old Grad Number (volume 4, no. 2), November 1922
Box-Folder 1.12: Coed Number (volume 4, no. 3), January 1923
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.13: Movie Number (volume 4, no. 4), April 1923
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.14: Preppers Number (volume 4, no. 5), May 1923
Box-Folder 1.15: R.O.T.C. Number (volume 4, no. 6), June 1923
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.16: Comeback Number (volume 5, no. 1), October 1923
Box-Folder 1.17: "Big Game" Number (volume 5, no. 2), November 1923
Box-Folder 1.18: Empty Sock Number (volume 5, no. 3), December 1923
Box-Folder 1.19: Moron Number (volume 5, no. 4), February 1924
Box-Folder 1.20: Unlucky Number (volume 5, no. 5), April 1924
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.21: Marine Sports Number (volume 5, no. 6), June 1924
Box-Folder 1.22: The Orange Owl (volume 6, no. 1), October 1924
Box-Folder 1.23: Home Again - Win Again Number (volume 6, no. 2), November 1924
Box-Folder 1.24: Memorial Union Number (volume 6, no. 3), January 1925
Box-Folder 1.25: Spring Fever Number (volume 6, no. 4), March 1925
Box-Folder 1.26: Spring Style Number (volume 6, no. 5), May 1925
Box-Folder 1.27: Registration Number (volume 7, no. 1), September 1925
Box-Folder 1.28: Alumni Number (volume 7, no. 2), October 1925
Box-Folder 1.29: Holiday Number (volume 7, no. 3), December 1925
Box-Folder 1.30: Odd Number (volume 7, no. 4), February 1926
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.31: Picnic Number (volume 7, no. 5), May 1926
Box-Folder 1.32: Literary Number (volume 7, no. 6), June 1926
This issue of serious literary pieces was published by students in the English Department under the supervision of Professors S.H. Peterson, Gertrude McElfrish, and J.M. Kierzek.
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.33: The Request Number (volume 8, no. 1), October 1926
Box-Folder 1.34: Homecoming Number (volume 8, no. 2), November 1926
Box-Folder 1.35: "Adam's Rib" Number (volume 8, no. 3), February 1927
Published exclusively by women students.
Box-Folder 1.36: Hammer & Coffin Number (volume 8, no. 4), April 1927
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.37: Honeymoon Number (volume 8, no. 5), May 1927
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.38: Homecoming Number (volume 9, no. 1), October 1927
Box-Folder 1.39: Purity Number (volume 9, no. 2), December 1927
Box-Folder 1.40: Leap Year Number (volume 9, no. 3), February 1928
Extent: 2 copies

Box-Folder 1.41: Sunday Paper Edition (volume 9, no. 4), April 1928
Box-Folder 1.42: Weak-End Number (volume 9, no. 5), May 1928
Reel 1: Junior Weekend Number (volume 2, no. 3), May 1921
This issue is only available on microfilm and online.

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