Bard College Collections
This collection is intended as a broad selection of materials from the College Archive that locates Bard within the social, cultural, and intellectual history of the Hudson Valley.
Browse all of the Bard College collections
Browse the Ward Manor Collection - In 1926 William Ward of the Ward Baking Company funded the renovation of the river estate known as Almonte for purposes of creating a home for the elderly in the 'gray manor house', to be managed and run by his friend William Matthews. Soon, Matthews extended the operation to include summer camps for girls and boys, and summer bungalow rentals to poor families in some 56 buildings extending from Cruger's Island, through what is now Tivoli Bays, to the "Homestead" mansion at the southern edge of the village of Tivoli. This photograph collection, owned by William Matthews' grandaughter Donna Matthews, documents these activities and the lives that were led here for more than 30 years. Very few of these buildings are standing today.
Browse the Bard College Architecture, Past and Present Collection - This collection contains photographs related to all buildings of Bard College, past and present.
Browse the Bard - Tivoli History Collection - This collection contains photographs, letters, and other manuscript material pertaining primarily to the relationship between John and Margaret Bard and Reverend James Starr Clark. These illustrate the beginnings of St. Stephen's College in Annandale; and in Tivoli, Trinity Church and School, and Trinity Academy.
Browse the Arendtiana Collection - The Arendtiana Collection is intended to gather materials closely related to the life and work of Hannah Arendt. It is a small supplemental collection to the Hannah Arendt Library, a collection of materials discovered in her library at the time of her death and now maintained at the Stevenson Library, Bard College.
Browse the Tivoli Collection - The Tivoli Collection is comprised of selected photographs of Tivoli collected by the late Joan Navins, former Village Historian.
Browse the Paul Hartzell Album - This photograph album was assembled by Paul Hartzell, class of 1915. It contains images of individual students, sports teams, fraternities, faculty, buildings, commencement exercises, budding romance, and various college rituals such as the Freshman Tug of War . Taken together, these provide a sense of life at St. Stephens during the years 1913-1915.
Browse the Harvey Fite Collection - Harvey Fite was a student at St. Stephen's College until 1930. He returned as a professor, teaching classes in drama and sculpture at Bard College from 1934-1969. Many of the photos included here were given to Bard by his family in 1996 at the presentation of the self portrait sculpture which stands in the Kellogg Library. Harvey Fite was a vital force in the Bard community, and he helped to shape the college even while he worked to create the monumental landscape work which became Opus 40.
Browse the Bard Family Papers - The letters, deeds, and other objects included here represent a small sample from a collection of Bard family materials donated to the college in 1938-39 by J.A. Sands, a Bard descendant. These selections, with dates ranging from the mid 18th through the mid 20th centuries, animate our understanding of individual family members, their relationships to each other and to the larger society.
Browse the WXBC Collection - WXBC was envisioned in 1946 by Elie Shneour '47, and implemented by many hands, including those of John Gillin '47 who wrote his senior project about the technical design and construction of this college radio station. The "X' in its call letters stood for "Experimental," and the 1951 yearbook described the station as the "Voice of the Bard Campus." The photographs in this collection record some of the events of WXBC in its early years.
Browse the Bard Student Fire Department Collection - The photographs in this collection document the existence of a student-run volunteer fire department at Bard College. Initially organized in 1942, the Bard College Fire Brigade (later called simply the Bard College Fire Department) became a central campus organization when founder George Blackstone returned from military service in 1946. Intended to protect the Bard community and to provide student members with fire fighting skills, the company fought fires as far away as Rhinecliff and Clermont during its active years. As years passed, however, leadership faltered. Suffering from lack of funds and dwindling membership, President Kline closed the department on May 3, 1960.
Browse the Elie Shneour Collection - The Elie A. Shneour Collection is comprised of black and white images scanned directly from negatives found in the Bard Archives. Taken by Elie Shneour ‘47 during the years 1943-1948, the collection offers a snapshot of Bard during and immediately after WWII. Included are some of the first images of women at Bard, as the college became coed in 1944 causing it to break its ties with Columbia University. Other items of interest include aerial shots of the campus, theatrical and musical events, dance parties, conferences, and portraits of individuals who made Bard such a vibrant community.
Browse the Peter Aaron Collection - This collection represents selected photographs of students and campus life at Bard taken by photographer Peter Aaron, '68 between the years 1964-1971. The original photographs were loaned to the archives by Mr. Aaron, scanned by Bard Archives staff, and subsequently returned to him. Included here are two aerial shots, some posed portraits, and a variety of candid images of students hanging out and having fun. Dark glasses and sideburns notwithstanding, together they offer a snapshot of Bard in the 1960s that, in many instances, might have been taken yesterday.
Browse the Sports at St. Stephen's - Athletics thrived at St. Stephen’s beginning in the 1920s with many teams achieving national rankings in their respective sports. Under the energetic leadership of Bernard Iddings Bell, construction on the Memorial Gymnasium was completed in 1921, a new athletic director was hired, and by 1925 a proper athletic field was completed next to the Hoffman Library. Sports teams, or ‘squads’ were often generically referred to as the ‘Saints,’ but individual teams were affectionately referred to as the ‘Scarlet Harriers’ (cross country); the ‘Scarlet Bootmen’ (soccer); the ‘Scarlet Stickmen’ (lacross); the ‘Scarlet Icemen,’ or ‘Scarlet Rinkmen’ (hockey); the ‘Red and White’ (basketball); and the ‘Crimson and White’(football). Tennis, Rugby and Bowling were also popular. While the drama of those games has evaporated, these team images retain and reflect the spark and prowess of the athletes of the day.
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