Harvard College Class of 1837 Class Book, 1837-1900

The 1837 Class Book is in some ways a nineteenth-century counterpart to the twentieth-century class yearbook. It contains handwritten autobiographies by the majority of members of the class. These were written in the volume on or around the time of Commencement, July 1837. Generally, each essay includes references to the student's family background, early childhood and education, and a memoir of his time as a student at Harvard College. In cases where the graduate did not contribute an essay, the Class Secretary included biographical information and news clippings. Some entries contain photographs. While providing a high degree of detail on many members of the class, the Class Book does not have entries for all members of the Class of 1837; thus it is a poor resource for confirmation of matriculation or degree status.

Photography had yet to be invented when the compilation of this volume began; thus, the Class Book did not initially contain photographs. After 1850, as paper printing processes became widely available, Class Secretary Henry Williams solicited portraits of each member of the Class from the graduates or their heirs and subsequently pasted those he received into the volume.