Sphinx Club records

Sphinx Club records

Descriptive Summary

Title: Sphinx Club records
Creator: Sphinx Club
Inclusive Dates: 1912-2015
Language(s): English
Extent: 8.75 Linear Feet 12 boxes
Collection Number: UA0076
Repository: University of Georgia Archives

Collection Description

Historical Note

The Sphinx Club in the oldest honorary society at the University of Georgia, recognizing students, faculty, staff and alumni who have made significant contributions to the University, the State of Georgia and the nation. The society is believed to have evolved around 1897 from an earlier society, "yukpali", which was founded in December 1896.

Members are given sequential numbers as they are initiated, with sequential letter combinations being assigned to honorary members. Pandora yearbooks from the early part of the 20th century often contain photographs from Sphinx initiations in which members appear in costume. This tradition continued as late as 1941, when the well known photo of Sphinx members mocking Governor Eugene Talmadge was taken.

Scope and Content

The correspondence and financial records of the 1920s provide an interesting cross section of letterhead and receipts in the Athens business community of the time. Several photographs of skits appear in this collection. There are also three DVD documentaries on the society. Of special interest is the biographical information found in the Sphinx Record and other membership information submitted over the years. Among these biographical sources are pages from a disassembled book of biographies of all members created circa 1967.

Organization and Arrangement

Organized into nine series: minutes and membership records; correspondence and finanacial notes; dinner and reunion correspondence; financial information; subject files; photographs, media and artifacts; ritual; operational; and biographical sheets.


Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access

At the request of the Sphinx membership, the rituals collected in box 4 can only be examined by those Sphinx members with a valid Sphinx ID.

Conditions Governing Access

Though the collection is open for research, the audiovisual recordings do not have reference copies; however, reference copies are available upon request. Audiovisual research requests are dependent upon the format and condition of the recordings.

Preferred Citation

Sphinx Club records, UA0076, University Archives, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.

General Notes

RG 6


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms


Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

1. Minutes and membership records

boxfolder
1a1Sphinx Records Book [minutes (1912-1924) and membership log and financial notes (1914-1919)], 1912-1924
1a2Sphinx record book [membership log], 1897-1961
1a3Sphinx membership [1] and [2], 1897-2011
boxfolder
1b4Sphinx labels and addresses, 1991
1b5Sphinx numerical [membership] lists [list of members with addresses and degrees], 1996-2000
1b6Membership lists, 2003 July 13
1b7[Biographical Information Project], 1964
 

2. Correspondence and financial notes

boxfolder
1b9[material], circa 1920-1928
1b10[Financial note], 1920
1b11[Correspondence and financial records], 1922
1b12[Correspondence and financial records], 1923
1b13[Correspondence and financial records], 1924
1b14[Correspondence and financial records], 1925
1b15[Correspondence and financial records], 1926
1b16[Correspondence and financial records], 1927
1b17[Correspondence and financial records, includes materials relating to the introduction of the Sphinx certificate], 1928
1b18Correspondence, 1938-1946
1b19Correspondence [includes letter from Frank Boland, class of 1897, regarding "yukpali" predecessor society to Sphinx], 1946-1950
1b20Correspondence, 1950-1954
1b21Correspondence, 1954 - 1958
1b22Correspondence, 1958 - 1959
1b23Correspondence, 1959-1961
1b24Correspondence, 1961-1963
1b25Correspondence, 1963-1964
1b26Correspondence, 1964-1965
1b27Correspondence, 1965-1967
1b28Correspondence, 1967-1968
1b29Correspondence, 1969-1969
1b30Correspondence, 1969-1970
1b31Correspondence, 1971-1978
1b32Correspondence, 1978-1988
1b33Correspondence, 1989-1999
1b34Sphinx current correspondence, circa 1998
1b35Requests for badges/pins, 1984-2004
1b36"Project X" project plan, 2012 spring
1b37Correspondence, 2016
1b38Correspondence, 2017
1b39Harley Langdale, Jr. Classroom and Center for Forest Business dedication ceremony, 2018 March 6
1b40Correspondence, 2019
 

3. Dinner and reunion correspondence

boxfolder
21Sphinx reunion [correspondence, clippings and financial notes], 1963
22Early reunion correspondence, circa 1984
23Sphinx reunion correspondence [and photographs (bicentennial)], 1984-1985
24Sphinx reunion, 1989
25Sphinx luncheon, 1991 November
26Sphinx reunion, 1996 May 3
27Sphinx reunion [includes photograph of custom-made Sphinx pin & photographs of Sphinx Plaza at Ohio State University], 1996
28Sphinx dinner and campaign, 1997
box
8Reunion and dedication of Sphinx Honor Plaza at Tate Center , 2007-2009
 

4. Financial information

boxfolder
29Receipt book, 1924
210Sphinx society, receipts & expenditures, 1950-1967
211Sphinx check register, 1967-1981
212Bank statements, 1982-1986
213Foundation account #SR593-other income-50-R3930, 1985-2001
214Foundation acct #SR593, 1985-2001
215Foundation acct-status reports, 1991-1996
216Foundation acct #SR593-agreement, 1984
217Student activities registration, 1984-2000
230Foundation status reports-Sphinx, 2001-2006
231Sphinx financials, 2000-2003
232Sphinx financials , 2004-2009
 

5. Subject Files

boxfolder
218Sphinx charm [correspondence], 1973
219Undated items and William Tate column on history of Sphinx, Athens Observer, 1977 December 17
220Sphinx members-[biographical] information [news clippings]
221Alfred O. Halsey [biographical information]
222Jasper Dorsey [biographical information], 1990
223Sphinx at Ohio State University [information about society of same name as UGA's-see also photographs in folder 2:7]
 

6. Photographs, media and artifacts

boxfolder
224Sphinx certificates, 1920s
225Sphinx pin, circa 2003
226Photographs of Sphinx skits, 1920s
227Photographs of Sphinx groups, 1990-2002
228Initiation blindfolds
229Sphinx Banquet program-signed by attendees, 1906
233The Lightning Bug, Volume 1, Number 6, 1926 May
This volume is an issue of a magazine published by the Lucy Cobb Endowment Fund and contains an article on the Sphinx Club.
box
10Sphinx statue/paperweight
box
3Five documentaries on DVD: "The Sphinx Club: The Early Years", "The Sphinx Club: The Counter Culture Years", "The Sphinx Club: How Sphinx Responded to Change", "The Athletes in Sphinx" and "For the Future"
 

7. Ritual [restricted to Sphinx Club members]

At the request of the Sphinx membership, the rituals collected in box 4 can only be examined with their approval.
box
4The Sphinx Ritual [Restricted to Sphinx Club members only]
 

8. Operational files

boxfolder
51Sphinx, 2000
52Sphinx Peter's Files [Peter Shedd files], circa 2000
53Sphinx, 2001
54Sphinx, 2002
55Sphinx Videotaping, 2002
56Sphinx, 2003
57Sphinx Videotaping, 2003
58Sphinx, 2004
59Sphinx Videotaping, 2004
510Sphinx, 2005
511Sphinx [includes photographs of intiation of Charlayne Hunter-Gault], 2006
512Sphinx Student-Centered Garden [Proposal & Design], 1995-2001
513Jasper Dorsey Award, 2000-2002
514Sphinx, 2007
boxfolder
5a1Sphinx , 2013
5a2Sphinx , 2014
5a3Sphinx , 2015
 

9. Member biographical sheets

box
6Biography Sheets for Student Members 1-478, 1967
box
7Biography Sheets for Honorary Members A-WZ and Boards from Original Binding
 

10. Additions

boxfolder
111Sphinx Clippings, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017
112Sphinx Reunion, 2009
113Sphinx Selection
114Sphinx New Members, 2001-2002
115Sphinx Initiation Dinner, 1993, 2000-2004, 2011-2013
116Sphinx Reception and Dinner Program, 1985, 1989
117Research Proposal, 2012
118Sphinx Correspondence, 2018
119Sphinx Initiation Correspondence, 2012
1110Sphinx Initiation Photos, 2012 April 10
1111Sphinx Misc

Special Collections Libraries
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-1641