Digital reproductions of the collection are available electronically. Links to digitized images of the individual programs are available in the Collection Inventory; selected photographs were scanned and added to the University of Pittsburgh Historic Photographs collection.
Pitt's Cap and Gown Club was an all male organization devoted to the production of annual varsity musical comedy shows. Founded in 1908, it eventually became the most popular non-athletic activity on campus. The Club produced a total of 36 shows through 1947, halting their activities only for four years during World War II. The Graduate Cap and Gown club, which supervised the productions, was officially incorporated in 1928 although it had been in existence for some years before. This group was officially dissolved in 1978.
All Cap and Gown productions were written and produced by Pitt undergraduates and alumni. Only undergraduates made up the casts and chorus. Gene Kelly, CAS '33, was an undergraduate member, and served as the Club's dance director for several years after graduating. Regis Toomey, '21, was another member who went on to a successful theatrical career. The Cap and Gown Club also produced two songs that became University standards, "Hail to Pitt" (from 1910's Here and There) and the "Pitt Victory Song" (from 1938's Pickets Please).
The records of the Cap and Gown Club consist primarily of production programs, arranged chronologically, with related material such as clippings, photographs, etc., of which there is little, filed with the appropriate program. A few of the programs contain music. Programs from the 1911 and 1919 shows are missing. Additional material includes photocopies of various articles on the Cap and Gown Club from The Pitt Panther, miscellaneous correspondence and memorabilia, and the final club minutes of 1978.
No restrictions.
Materials collected by Special Collections staff during the 1960s and 1970s. Additional items donated by Ardis Jones Blenko in May 1980 and Stephen Witmer in December 2010. The music score for 1937's Trailer Ho by John Stephens donated by his widow Lenore Stephens in May 2009.
Some of the materials were transferred from the University Archives in September 1981 to supplement those already held in the Curtis Theatre Collection.
Cap and Gown Club Records, 1908-1978, CTC.1980.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Cap and Gown Club Records, 1908-1978, CTC.06, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Cap and Gown Club Records, 1908-1978, CTC.1980.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
This collection was processed by Special Collections Staff.
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
G. Norman Reis Papers, 1909-1946, CTC.1985.02, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Oliver P. Merriman Scrapbook Collection, 1825-1942, CTC.1964.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh Library System
University Archives, 0/3/1 Box 14 Starrett Historical files FF 79
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