By Magdalena Hernandez
Photography by Glenn Pike

Maybe you're a collector. Maybe, inspired by repeated viewings of Antiques Roadshow, you're ready to become one.

Since they say collect what you love, we have an idea: Why not collect Northeastern? It's a guaranteed nostalgia rush for you. Plus, the university's been around for over a hundred years—you know there's plenty of vintage material out there.

But where to find the relics and remnants of Northeastern's days and ways? Trolling the local tag sales is labor-intensive. Auctions at Christie's are rather inconvenient.

Ah, but then there's eBay, the online megabazaar founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995. At , all manner of treasure and trinket awaits your high bid. You'll discover a search on "Northeastern University" usually produces results.

To show you what's available, dear reader, over the past few months we purchased the following items on eBay, each for $25 or less.

Once our finds were in hand, we invited Joan Krizack, university archivist and head of Special Collections at Snell Library, to give her expert opinion on these artifacts, which will be donated to her department's care and safekeeping.

So put down your bidding paddle. We've already hit the auction block. And you're about to view a pretty interesting lot.

UNCOMMON ANNUAL: 1929

With so many books put up for auction on eBay every day, jewels are bound to surface. This yearbook, Krizack says, is a rare find. Archives currently has only seven copies of the 1929 Cauldron in its possession.

An older Cauldron holds special appeal for anyone interested in Northeastern history, amateur and professional alike. "It's a good resource for images of student life," says Krizack. "We don't have many images in our photo file from Northeastern's early days."

This volume, which was signed by many of the original owner's classmates, certainly offers a snapshot of a cordial campus. See the description of the good works done by the Student Union: "Through its Service and Welfare department, letters, copies of the News [the student paper], flowers, and fruit have been sent to ill students. . . ."

Archives has hundreds of copies of most later Cauldrons, enough to sell them for $10 apiece. With one exception. "If you come to me with the 1970 edition, I'll be very, very happy," Krizack says. "We have only two copies." She doesn't know why the 1970 edition is so rare, but speculates the politically unsettled times had something to do with it. "Perhaps a lot of things that were normally done during that period weren't done due to the turmoil."

And here's a fun fact: No one knows how the yearbook got its name. It's just always been the Cauldron, from its birth in 1917 until today. "I thought it would be explained in the first edition," says Krizack. "But it isn't."

The Husky diaries: 1933–1936

This tiny (2.75-by-4-inch) volume is packed with information for the historian. The first third is an official 1933Æ1934 student handbook, containing the calendar for the academic year, campus rules and regulations, a list of club activities, school cheers and songs, and more.

The rest is an engagement diary. And this book's owner was a veritable Samuel Pepys. The lined pages are crammed with entries, written so economically in a legible cursive hand that they stretch from December 16, 1933, to January 25, 1936, with room to spare.

The diarist's identity remains unknown; the book isn't inscribed with a name. Krizack notes that most of the entries refer to social activities—dinners, operas, choir practice. Never to classes or exams. As a result, she thinks the owner might have been a faculty wife or a student's relative.

One thing is certain: Flipping through the book opens a window onto another era. For instance, on Monday, February 5, 1934, the diarist attended a lecture on "Hitler and the Polish Corridor." The same day, "Mac & Olive" were "guests for ice cream etc." On Friday,

May 18, 1934, a movie was on the agenda: It Happened One Night. There's also this notation: "Drive new Chevrolet for demonstration."

"The entries make it special," Krizack says, approvingly.

Black-and-white world: Ca. 1934

"The Story in Pictures" was part of a regular series of promotional brochures printed by Northeastern to give prospective students a taste of life on campus. It did so through a lot of black-and-white photography and surprisingly little text. Krizack says many such viewbooks also included a request for an application form (this one does not).

There's no copyright date given, but the 9-by-12-inch 48-page booklet was probably published in 1934. Krizack says the Glee Club photo is the same one that appears in the 1934 Cauldron. A line in the booklet's introduction holds another clue: "During the past twenty-five years, Northeastern University on the co-operative plan has enjoyed a substantial and wholesome growth." Co-op began in 1909; add twenty-five years, and you hit 1934 on the nose.

Krizack finds these publications valuable for dating historic photos in the Archives collection. But not all pamphlets are created equal. This one is especially eye-catching, she says. "I totally love the cover—the color, the typeface, and the old seal are great."

Collectible compasses: Ca. 1937

This handsome leatherette case—labeled "Northeastern" in gold lettering—holds seven compasses manufactured by New YorkÆbased Keuffel and Esser, one of the era's leading producers of drafting tools.

Unfortunately, an eighth compass is missing from the set. "It would be better if it were totally complete, but it's still extremely interesting," says Krizack. She particularly admires the case's interior. "The green velvet is spectacular. It's really fun."

She adds, "We have a photo of a drafting class from the 1930s, and this would be wonderful to display with it."

The compasses were put up for sale by Bud Vana, of Venice, California. They had belonged to his grandfather Kenneth Hunt, a chemical engineering student at Northeastern in the late 1930s. Hunt left his college studies when he was "called off to the war, where he served as a radio operator in North Africa and around the Mediterranean, as well as a mail clerk in Europe," says Vana.

In 1945, Vana says, his grandfather "returned home to Newport, Vermont, and to the family business, the Newport Daily Express, where he worked for the next thirty years as the news editor. He was never able to return to finish his education at Northeastern."

Pride of the Huskies: Ca. 1950

Fans will cheer over this felt football-style pennant, which, like the viewbook, sports the old "docendo discimus" seal. But you don't have to clear a wall to show it off. It's a petite 8.5 inches long.

This was another good find: Archives currently has only one other sports pennant, says Krizack, who deems this one "very cool."

"It's in excellent condition," she says. "It has no holes, and it's not folded." No doubt the flag's size helped keep it well preserved; it's small enough to be tucked tidily between the pages of a book.

Archives plans to file this piece under "Memorabilia," along with a variety of armbands, paperweights, and banners in its collection.

Ceramics class: 1964

This mint-condition gilt-edged plate commemorates 1964's Senior Week activities, which took place from June 7 through 14.

Why, you might ask, is that image of the Manhattan skyline included along with the Boston Pops and the commencement ball? Well, for one of the week's highlights, the seniors took "party buses" to the Big Apple, where they spent a couple of days at the World's Fair.

According to Krizack, the dish represents yet another rarity. Archives has only two other pieces of china in its collection, including one that shows an early image of the Quad.

Take the E train: 1971

This 5x7 print of a 1971 photograph of Huntington Avenue near the Quad might seem a modest acquisition. But Krizack says rapid transit fans find such shots irresistible.

"What's really interesting is the train," she says, referring to the electric E Line subway car, whose color belies its Green Line status. "A lot of people collect this kind of transportation memorabilia."

Clearly, Krizack notes, this was not prime time for the boulevard now lushly landscaped and tagged the Avenue of the Arts: "Look at the appalling condition of the street and the tracks," she says.

The good old days? Do a little digging in the past, and sometimes you find the good old days

Magdalena Hernandez, MBA'02, is a senior editor. If you have your own pieces of Northeastern history you'd like to donate to the university, contact archivist Joan Krizack at j.krizack@neu.edu.