Defined as “the combination of two or more letters in such a way that one letter forms part of another and the overall design cannot easily be separated,” a monogram was a fashionable way to creatively leave one’s mark.(1) Popular features on stationery, personal monograms were patterned after the monograms of royals and other nobility. In fact, collectors often liked to incorporate such famous monograms into their crest collections.(2) A 1909 Good Housekeeping article gave tips for how to craft a monogram. After you have written your initials on paper, the author urges that you let them “stand for some time exposed to the eye” and “mix together with as much warmth as possible till they seem to form a fine scheme.” Then you should “watch patiently till they appear to run together slightly,” ultimately being “pulled into various shapes or lightly molded by the hands to suit the taste of the individual.”(3)
From the Realm of Academia
- Williams College—Williamstown, MA—Founded 1793
- Dr. Holbrook’s Military School—Sing Sing, NY—Founded in 1866—See the New York Public Library Digital Gallery for an image of Dr. Holbrook's school.
- Bishop Hopkins Hall (1888)—On the campus of Rock Point School in Burlington, VT—See a University of Vermont page for historic images of the hall.
- Miss Spence’s School—Founded 1892—New York, NY—School for Girls
- Yale University—Founded 1701—New Haven, CT—Features the school’s shield with the inscription Lux et Veritas, meaning “Light and Truth.”
- Princeton University—Founded 1746—Princeton, NJ—Features the school’s shield with the inscription Dei sub numine viget, meaning “Under the protection of God she flourishes.”
Fine Hotels
- Normandie-By-The-Sea—summer hotel in Seabright, NJ
- Hotel Marie Anoinette—formerly in Manhattan on Broadway & 66th St.—See the New York Public Library Digital Gallery for an image of the hotel
Selected Latin Inscriptions
- Aquila non captat muscas—“The eagle does not capture flies.”
- Promptus et Fidelis—“Ready & Faithful”
- Excelsior—“Ever Upward”—New York State Motto
- Hinc Orior—“From here I rise.”
Societies & Clubs
- Daughters of the American Revolution
- Cottage Club, a Princeton Eating Club
- Alpha Delta Phi, a literary society
- Cresk Design. “A Brief and Selective History of Monograms.” http://cresk.nl/a-brief-and-selective-history-of-monograms. Accessed 2 July 2013.
- Jennifer Kennard, Letterology: Letters Are Symbols Which Turn Matter Into Spirit Blog. http://letterology.blogspot.com/search/label/Monograms#uds-search-results. Accessed 1 July 2013.
- Frederic Flagler Helmer, “Making a Monogram,” Good Housekeeping 48, no. 4 (1909), Home Economics Archive: Research, Tradition and History (HEARTH). Ithaca, NY: Albert R. Mann Library, Cornell University. http://dlxs2.library.cornell.edu. (Linked from Cresk Design, “A Brief Selective History of Monograms”) Accessed 2 July 2013.
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