December Library Pick of the Month

The book of the month for December is The Windsorian Vol. 22, No. 1, a King's College School (KCS) yearbook from one hundred years ago.  

When Ms. Jenna Pennington and Mr. Brodi Robinson collaborated with the library and archives departments to put together a wonderful exploration of school yearbooks and archival pieces earlier this year for a Grade 10 history project, I had the opportunity to learn more about the School’s fascinating history. For instance, a century ago the yearbook looked very different from the bright hardcover book we make today. Then, it was a slim paperback printed three times each school year: first at Christmas, next Easter, and then midsummer. Imagine a time when photos and illustrations were difficult or expensive to procure and reproduce! Very few images are present in the book, instead, stories, summaries, and commentary on the many school events tell the tale of life at the school at the time. This type of yearbook is a precursor to newsletters such as the one you are reading right now.

In the Christmas edition of 1924, there are sports team updates, lists of prizes given in June, notes about “Old Boys” (KCS alumni), and birth and death announcements including an homage to the man “who cut the hair of many generations of schoolboys during the last thirty years,” who died in November of that year. There is also a page dedicated to library notes, how meta! It is wonderful to consider how all of our efforts to teach and learn are part of a long, rich, and ever-evolving history.