The Lamplighter Literary Magazine, 1936-1945

Title: The Lamplighter Literary Magazine, 1936-1945

ID: PUB 010-13d

Primary Creator: Lamplighter Club (Oregon State College)

Extent: 0.15 cubic feet. More info below.

Arrangement: The Lamplighter Literary Magazine consists of one series.

Languages of Materials: English [eng]

The Lamplighter Literary Magazine was edited and published by Oregon State College students from 1935 to 1946.  This archival collection includes a selection of 19 individual issues published in 1936-1946.  Students were responsible for writing, selection, and editing of all material published in The Lamplighter as well as layout of type and illustrations, printing, and distiribution.  Sigurd H. Peterson, head of the English Department, served as faculty advisor for the publication.  All issues of The Lamplighter are available in the HIstory of Oregon State University collection as well as an index, which is also available online.

Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

The Lamplighter Literary Magazine was edited and published by Oregon State College students from 1935 to 1946.  This archival collection includes a selection of 19 individual issues published from 1936 to 1946.  The Lamplighter includes stories, poems, essays, and feature articles with illustrations of linoleum block prints on the cover and interior.

This collection begins with the January 1936 issue.  It includes several issues published in 1936-1940 and concludes with the November 1945 and January-May 1946 issues.  Two copies of several issues are included.

Students were solely responsible for all aspects of the publication, including writing, selection and editing of material to be published; layout of type and illustration; printing and assembly; and sales and distribution.  The magazine was printed in the basement of the home of the faculty advisor, Sigurd H. Peterson, on a linotype printer.  Prizes were offered for the best published pieces and merchandise coupons were awarded each term to the sorority that sold the most copies.

Items from this collection have been digitized and are available in Oregon Digital.

The Lamplighter was established in 1935 after the previous literary magazine , The Manuscript, ceased publication in 1932.  Unlike its predecessor, which was edited by the English Department, the Lamplighter was solely an Oregon State College student publication.  The students who published the magazine comprised the Lamplighter Club.

The first issue of The Lamplighter was published in February 1935.  Subsequent issues were published in May and October of 1935.  Beginning with the December 1935 issue, the magazine was published monthly during the academic year.  Beginning with the 1936-1937 academic year, 8 or 9  issues were published each year from October to May or June.  The December 1941 issue commemorated the 1941 football team’s upcoming trip to the January 1, 1942 Rose Bowl.  The literary magazine continued publication during World War II.

Because of printing issues, the Lamplighter Club was inactiviated in December 1946 and the May 1946 issue was the final installment of The Lamplighter that was published.  Sigma Delta Chi sponsored a new magazine, The Quad, which began publication in January 1947.

More Extent Information: 1 box

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The issues in this collection were received in multiple transfers and donations from the 1980s through 2017.

Related Materials:

The Lamplighter is also available in the History of Oregon State University Collection with this call number:  LH1 .L3

Other publications of Oregon State students' literary and creative output include:  The Manuscript (PUB 010-13b) ; The Orange Owl (PUB 010-13c); and, most recently, The Prism (PUB 013-9).

Preferred Citation: The Lamplighter Literary Magazine (PUB 010-13d), Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.

Lamplighter Club (Oregon State College)

College students' writings, American--Oregon--Corvallis.
College students--Oregon--Corvallis.
Oregon State College--Students.
Peterson, Sigurd Harlan, 1886-1963.
Student publications--Oregon--Corvallis.
University History