Archives: Amherstiana
May 21, 2008
Sabrina watch: New York City
Parker has covered the recent heist of Sabrina by a daring group of ’08s here and here.
Some of my classmates now living in New York City reported a Sabrina appearance in that city on Tuesday evening. Could someone send us a report and some photos? Leave a comment or contact us at amerst@gmail.com or dnardo@gmail.com … no questions asked!
Dave Nardolillo '98 at 02:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
May 10, 2008
Sabrina attracts attention
The alleged heist of Sabrina from the College repository by the class of 2008 attracted a great deal of attention yesterday. Having the campus “covered in leaflets,” according to a story in Saturday’s Gazette, may have had something to to with it.
As the Gazette put it,
Sabrina—or more appropriately, stealing Sabrina—has a long history at Amherst College.
Rebecca Binder ‘02 did some digging and found reports of some of the more legendary exploits, including the train-by-the-baseball-game incident in 1922, the hidden in a barn incident (starring future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Harlan Fiske Stone, class of 1894), and this lengthy Times article from 1911, titled “The Thirty Years’ War.” Binder reports that much more can be found in the Times archive by searching “Sabrina Amherst”.
The Gazette went on to quote a College spokesperson:
“We understand the students say they have the Sabrina,” said Caroline J. Hanna, Amherst College’s director of media relations. “We’re looking into it.”
A more direct, if somewhat less official, quote came from President Marx at the Senior Dinner, held Friday evening. According to Lawrence Hamblin ‘08, Marx said,
“Some group of you, in this room, have my nymph! And I want her back!”
Parker Morse '96 at 11:34 AM | Comments (0)
May 09, 2008
Sabrina on the loose?
A report early this morning suggests that Sabrina (hopefully we don’t need to provide much biography for the only woman who can claim to be on a first name basis with entire generations of Amherst students) is once again on the loose, and in the hands of the even-year classes.
Sabrina has been in the hands of the College administration for several decades, making occasional appearances at College events, but according to a note posted this morning on the Daily Jolt,
“Some time ago, a few of your fellow classmates crept into a bunker, hidden in the mountains around our valley, and absconded the beautiful goddess. We cannot, of course, disclose our identities just yet, nor can we display Sabrina publicly, for fear that the administrative forces of the College will work fervently to repossess her. (Although, really, it wouldn’t disappoint us if they recognize the fun of this tradition and let us off the hook…)”
The supposed statue liberators note that
“…as some of you may know, many years ago Sabrina was cruelly decapitated at the hands of pranksters among the Williams Ephs. Although her head was reattached by a subsequent Amherst class, the scars are still apparent, and her head is loosening once more. Therefore Sabrina will be traveling throughout the Northeast during senior week, visiting alums from ‘E classes, and posing with them in photos in exchange for a small donation toward the Sabrina Recapitation Fund. This summer we will use those funds to give Sabrina the healing treatment she deserves at the hands of a professional bronze craftsman.”
It’s also worth noting that, like any other college girl with topless photos floating around the internet, Sabrina now has a Facebook profile, where she lists among her “favorite books” both Passages of Time: Narratives in the History of Amherst College by Doug Wilson ‘62 and Chicken Soup for the Bronze Statuette’s Soul.
Parker Morse '96 at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
September 15, 2007
Roosevelt Island Sabrina, part 2
I wanted to quickly highlight a comment to our earlier post discussing Sabrina’s appearance on Roosevelt Island in New York City.
The author of Roosevelt Island 360 (RI 360), a neat website/blog dedicated to reporting the happenings on and history of that sliver of land in the East River, has kindly given us an update. Although we should have been the ones to reach out to Bruce Becker ‘80 for more information, we are indebted to RI 360, who has done our job for us and received a very nice response by e-mail from Becker.
Becker, after sharing Sabrina’s history with RI 360, reveals how the sculpture arrived on Roosevelt Island:
The castings were made from a mold of 19th Century casting I located in Rochester Vermont that was in perfect condition. The Roosevelt Island installation is the first casting made of solid bronze and is a stunning setting for her, adjacent to the river and The Octagon.
He also notes that other Sabrinas can be found on the sites of several projects designed by his architecture firm, Becker+Becker.
Sabrina has been installed at a number of other projects designed by Becker and Becker over the past 15 years. Copies can be found at the courtyard of a New York City Housing Authority project at Avenue D and 8th Street in Manhattan, the Times Square Hotel, Urban Horizons (the former Morrisania Hospital) in the Bronx, Avalon Grove in Stamford, The Crescent Building in Bridgeport and The Marvin in Norwalk, CT. None of these installations incorporate the original statue which has been the object of class rivalries at Amherst College.
RI 360 closes its post on the topic by suggesting that a student or alumnus should approach Becker about photographs of the various Sabrinas for a web collage. A great idea, but it might be more fun to work a self guided Sabrina tour into your next trip to the New York metropolitan area and experience some of them yourself. If any Amherst undergrad (or alumn) would like to be our correspondent and take on that road trip, we’d love to see any Sabrina photos that you take.
Dave Nardolillo '98 at 11:04 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 09, 2007
Sabrina lands on Roosevelt Island?
Sabrina (or a compelling replica of the sculpture) has apparently found a home on Roosevelt Island, that tiny sliver of land smack in the middle of New York City’s East River.
The sculpture is located on the grounds of The Octagon, a landmark refurbished and converted into a condominium complex. The inquisitive Roosevelt Island resident that happened upon Sabrina has done the research on the sculpture’s history and connected all the Amherst dots back to Bruce Becker ‘80, the condominium developer, (and even linked to Brian’s post on Sabrina’s 2005 reunion appearance here) and notes the coincidence with Amherst’s own Octagon.
I am assuming that this Sabrina is indeed a replica, but please leave us a note in the comments if you can add to the story of Sabrina’s new home.
Dave Nardolillo '98 at 12:45 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
May 20, 2005
Amherst Magazine on Amherstiana
The Spring 2005 issue of the Amherst Magazine has just been mailed out and updated online, and, among other things, it features an article about Amherst memorabilia and eBay. The article, titled “Wild, Wild Web: The Hunt for Amherst on eBay,” was written (and photographed) by Sam Masinter ‘04, whose photos of the Mandela event we brought you earlier this week. The piece features an interview with me (plus at least one photo of me surfing the web - has that ever looked cool?) that Sam conducted back in January. The article also features some of Sam’s experiences as well as an interview with Daria D’Arienzo of the College Archives and Special Collections.
It’s always strange so see oneself referred to by one’s last name in a publication, and I can’t remember saying half the stuff I seem to have said, but Sam did a good job representing the strange and interesting world of Amherst on eBay.
Photo by Sam Masinter ‘04.
Brian Meacham '97 at 04:45 PM
April 04, 2005
Strange Amherstiana on eBay
This week sees a couple of strange items in the unending flow of Amherstiana available on eBay. First, we have a letter of acceptance for the class of 2009, boasted to be the first of many such letters to be auctioned off by a high school senior who seems to think it’s funny. Perhaps it is; we’ll see if anyone agrees and bids more than the one cent at which the auction currently stands. I hope the student enjoys him/herself at MIT.
Second, and much more interesting, is a 150 year-old suit said to be worn by John De Witt Weaver of the class of 1857 at his Commencement. This two-piece suit is described as a mix of hand-stitched and machine-stitched, with a variety of different fabrics “including homespun.” The suitcoat has ten buttons and a watch pocket, and the pants feature a brass buckle and red trim. The bidding, which began at $199, is currently up to $255.
Brian Meacham '97 at 09:51 PM
March 10, 2005
Lord Jeff, the musical
I’ll admit this has been around for three years without me noticing, so I’ll share it with you in case you haven’t seen it either:
A flash animation of Lord Jeffery Amherst, as comic opera, enacted by bunnies. (But not the Angry Alien type of bunnies—this is done by Wing Mui ‘05.)
It’s probably work-safe (the audio track is a recording of the 1992 Concert Choir) but the interpretation might be considered PG-13 (for cartoon violence and substance abuse) and requires a sense of humor. Thanks to Emily Reich ‘96 for pointing it out.
Parker Morse '96 at 09:59 AM
February 20, 2005
Men's track goes back in time
Apparently I’m not the only one fascinated by the collection of team photos of past Lord Jeff teams which line the walls of Alumni Gym. Coach Erik Nedeau’s track team recently staged a recreation of one of the turn-of-the-(previous)-century photos, including hand-lettered shirts, period hairstyles, a bicycle (!), and their modern spikes, which, while anachronistic, fit in quite well.
The best photo graces the front page of the current track team page, with a link to more photos from the shoot.
Parker Morse '96 at 04:17 PM
January 11, 2005
Amherstiana Interview
I spent some time today talking with a writer for the Amherst Magazine about Amherst memorabilia, Amherst collectibles on eBay, and my collection, which I’ve dubbed “Amherstiana.” His first question: how do you pronounce it? I guess it’s got a flat ‘a’ like “banana” as opposed to a more refined one rhyming with “Madonna,” though I never gave it much thought. In looking around yesterday I found out that I didn’t coin the word, as I might have thought. It’s been in use for many years as part of the Latin name for a variety of flora around the world, including “Wulfenia amherstiana,” “Ardisia amherstiana,” and “Bosea amherstiana,” which is apparently a ‘famine food.’
I didn’t have any particularly interesting stories to tell about buying Amherst-related material online, but I’ve seen some trends (less interesting material, more deep-pocketed buyers eager for anything vaguely college-related) and found a few gems. The article will be out sometime in the next year.
Brian Meacham '97 at 11:15 PM
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