The Elizabethan Club is a social club at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
named for
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
and her era. Its profile and members tend toward a literary disposition, and conversation is one of the Club's chief purposes.
The Elizabethan Club's collection of 16th- and 17th-century books and artifacts include
Shakespearean folios and quartos, first editions of
Milton's ''
Paradise Lost
''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...
'',
Spenser's ''
Faerie Queene
''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...
'', and
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
's ''Essayes'', all locked in the club's vault. The collection is only available for inspection at certain times, or to researchers upon request at Yale's
Beinecke Library
The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...
. Tea is served daily during the semester and members may invite guests on specified days. The Club accepts female and male undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff.
History
The club was founded in 1911 by
Alexander Smith Cochran
Alexander Smith Cochran (February 28, 1874 – June 20, 1929 ) was a manufacturer, sportsman and philanthropist from Yonkers, New York.
Biography
He was born on February 28, 1874, to William Francis Cochran and Eva Smith. His grandfather was Alex ...
, a member of the Yale Class of 1896 and
Wolf's Head Society
Wolf's Head Society is a senior society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The society is one of the reputed "Big Three" societies at Yale, along with Skull and Bones and Scroll and Key. Active undergraduate membership is elected annual ...
. As an undergraduate he had regretted the lack of a congenial atmosphere in which to discuss literature and the arts with classmates and faculty. In 1910 he began to assemble a small but exceptional collection of first and early editions of the Elizabethan and Jacobean plays that he had studied with
William Lyon Phelps
William Lyon Phelps (January 2, 1865 New Haven, Connecticut – August 21, 1943 New Haven, Connecticut) was an American author, critic and scholar. He taught the first American university course on the modern novel. He had a radio show, wrote ...
, and in 1911 he offered the collection to Yale as the central point of interest for a club where conversation – and tea – would be available every afternoon. Cochran also provided a clubhouse, with quarters for a resident steward, and a generous endowment of $100,000. His portrait hangs above the fireplace in the Vault Room, and his birthday (28 February) is marked by an annual Founder’s Dinner. The life portrait of the
''Virgine Queene'' in the Tea Room, attributed to
Federico Zuccari
Federico Zuccaro, also known as Federico Zuccari (c. 1540/1541August 6, 1609), was an Italian Mannerist painter and architect, active both in Italy and abroad.
Biography
Zuccaro was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, near Urbino (Marche).
His docum ...
, came with the founder’s original gift. Began during the literary renaissance at the university between 1909 and 1920, the club attracted such book collectors as
Phelps Phelps may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Phelps, Kentucky
* Phelps, Michigan, an unincorporated community
* Phelps, New York
** Phelps (village), New York
* Phelps, Wisconsin, a town
** Phelps (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated co ...
,
Chauncey Brewster Tinker
Chauncey Brewster Tinker (October 22, 1876 – March 10, 1963) was a scholar of English Literature and Sterling Professor at Yale University.
Early life
Tinker was born on October 22, 1876, in Auburn, Maine to Anson Phelps Tinker, a Yale gradua ...
, and
John Berdan
John Berdan (December 16, 1798 – October 11, 1841) was the 1st mayor of Toledo, Ohio and served two terms in office from 1837 to 1839.
Berdan was born in New York City and lived in Brunswick, Ohio
Brunswick ( or ) is the largest city in Me ...
.
Cochran’s gift of 141 folios and quartos includes, among other important volumes, the first four Shakespeare Folios, one of the three known copies of the 1604 ''Hamlet'', and the copy of
Ben Jonson’s ''Works'' (1616) inscribed by the author to his friend Francis Young. Over the years additional volumes of equal importance, such as first or early quartos of all the major dramatists, have been acquired by gift and purchase, and the entire collection now numbers around 300 volumes. A catalog of this collection, ''The Elizabethan Club of Yale University and Its Library'', prepared by Yale's Stephen Parks, was published in 1986 and considerably expanded in a 2011 edition. The club vault also holds a sample of 16th-century documents, manuscripts (for example, a letter of condolence from Queen Elizabeth to her friend
Lady Southwell, 15 October 1598) and medals (one celebrating the defeat of the
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (a.k.a. the Enterprise of England, es, Grande y Felicísima Armada, links=no, lit=Great and Most Fortunate Navy) was a Spanish fleet that sailed from Lisbon in late May 1588, commanded by the Duke of Medina Sidonia, an aris ...
in 1588), as well as various artifacts (a lock of
Byron’s hair; a snuff box carved from a mulberry tree planted by Shakespeare at New Place, his home at Stratford; and a guest book signed by many of the club's visitors).
Documents relating to the club's organization and activities, including a tradition of formal correspondence written in Latin to the
Signet Society
The Signet Society of Harvard University was founded in 1870 by members of the class of 1871. The first president was Charles Joseph Bonaparte. It was, at first, dedicated to the production of literary work only, going so far as to exclude debate ...
at Harvard, are viewable at the online Yale Manuscripts and Archives Collection.
Activity
The club is dedicated to conversation, tea, the art of the book, and literature, focused on—but not exclusively of—the Elizabethan era. During the academic year the clubhouse is open daily for the use of its members from 8 in the morning until 10 in the evening. Tea is served every afternoon during termtime from four until six. A 1920 observer noted among "certain hopeful signs of the times, current British and American periodicals are neatly lined up on tables, configurations of other little tables, sofas and chairs provide many nooks for quiet discussion or reading, and upstairs even includes a room dedicated almost entirely to archives of ''
Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
'', the former English magazine of humor and satire. Outside, the club has a deep back garden with a pavilion, understated elegant plantings, and featuring a bust of the Bard himself, to facilitate the enjoyments of finger sandwiches, cookies and croquet."
From time to time, the club sponsors special events such as Club Nights with a speaker and discussion; seasonal parties and teas; and an annual lecture honoring Maynard Mack (1909-2001), former president of the club, longtime faculty member and illustrious Shakespeare scholar. Mack lecturers have included
Joanne Akalaitis
JoAnne Akalaitis (born June 29, 1937, in Cicero, Illinois) is an avant-garde Lithuanian-American theatre director and writer. She won five Obie Awards for direction (and sustained achievement) and was founder in 1970 of the critically acclaimed M ...
,
John Barton,
Tony Church
James Anthony Church (11 May 1930 – 25 March 2008) was an English actor, who has appeared on stage and screen. In 1989 he became the Dean of the National Theatre Conservatory, which is the teaching arm of the Denver Center Theatre Company in ...
,
Lisa Harrow,
Michael Kahn,
Mark Lamos
Mark Lamos (born March 10, 1946) is an American theatre and opera director, producer and actor. Under his direction, Hartford Stage won the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and he has been nominated for two other Tonys. He is n ...
, Carey Perloff,
Michael Billington and
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has receive ...
.
The club also has underwritten the production of a small series of books, published by the Yale University Press. Indeed, publishing specialized works relating to the club's mission has been a practice dating back to its early years.
Membership
Membership in the Elizabethan Club, by invitation only, includes undergraduates (15 members are elected per class year; however, freshmen are not admitted; accordingly there are at most 45 current undergraduates at any time), graduate students, university staff, and faculty. The affairs of the club are managed by a self-perpetuating Board of Incorporators (six members of the university) that meets twice a year in October and May and by an elected Board of Governors that meets monthly. It is not a "final society", in that membership in another Yale secret society, association, or club is not a bar to also having club membership.
Architecture
![Elizabethan Club Yale University 1920](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Elizabethan_Club_Yale_University_1920.jpg)
* The Elizabethan Club is housed in a landmarked well-preserved
Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
building, the Leverett Griswold House, built circa 1775 and renovated between 1810-1815 and 1995-1996. It was previously owned successively by the Leverett Griswold and Wilbur Gilbert families.
* Kenneth Boroson, AIA, of Kenneth Boroson Architects, LLC designed an addition and rear garden in 1995-1996.
* Architectural historian Patrick Pinnell in his 1999 history of Yale's campus says this "crisp little white house... shows off an early example of a
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
fronting the street, rather than being turned parallel to it... predicting the temple-front individuality of
Greek Revival
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...
..." It provides the only remaining Federal-era aspect on this stretch of College Street, one that Pinnell discusses as having been in the mid 19th century a residential street.
* The clubhouse, acquired by the founder in 1911, bears National Historic, State Historic and City Historic designations.
Books
* The Lizzie informally fosters appreciation for the Art of the Book and of fine printing and typography, befitting a campus with a number of working old-fashioned undergraduate presses.
* Guests sign in upon entering; consequently, the Lizzie's collection of these guestbooks includes autographs of prominent literary, arts, and other figures who have visited. Among these are
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
,
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
,
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloq ...
, (a frequent visitor)
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
,
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and short story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in t ...
,
W.B. Yeats,
Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...
,
Diana Rigg
Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in '' On H ...
,
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
,
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism.
In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...
,
Dr. Ruth Westheimer
Karola Ruth Westheimer ( Siegel; born June 4, 1928), better known as Dr. Ruth, is a German-American sex therapist, talk show host, author, professor, Holocaust survivor, and former Haganah sniper.
Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish fam ...
, and
Kenneth Branagh
Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...
.
* On the second floor, the Map Room contains a collection of books about Shakespeare and the Elizabethan period, most of them published in the middle of the twentieth century. In the Study Room there are bound copies of ''Punch'' from 1847 to 1985, and in the Governors Room numerous bound sets of British and European authors, plus a small collection of books presented to the club by authors who are members.
Notable members
* Notable members today include
Strobe Talbott
Nelson Strobridge Talbott III (born April 25, 1946) is an American foreign policy analyst focused on Russia. He was associated with ''Time'' magazine, and a diplomat who served as the Deputy Secretary of State from 1994 to 2001. He was president ...
,
Richard H. Brodhead
Richard Halleck Brodhead (born April 17, 1947) is an American scholar of 19th-century American literature and served as the ninth president of Duke University.
Early life and education
Brodhead was born April 17, 1947, in Dayton, Ohio. His fami ...
,
Daniel Yergin
Daniel Howard Yergin (born February 6, 1947) is an American author, speaker, energy expert, and economic historian. Yergin is vice chairman of S&P Global. He was formerly vice chairman of IHS Markit, which merged with S&P in 2022. He founded Ca ...
,
Vincent Scully
Vincent Joseph Scully Jr. (August 21, 1920 – November 30, 2017) was an American art historian who was a Sterling Professor of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject. Architect Phil ...
,
Jonathan Brewster Bingham
Jonathan Brewster Bingham (April 24, 1914 – July 3, 1986) was an American politician and diplomat. He was the US delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and was elected to Congress from The Bronx, serving in the House of Representatives ...
,
Hilton Als
Hilton Als (born 1960) is an American writer and theater critic. He is a teaching professor at the University of California, Berkeley, an associate professor of writing at Columbia University and a staff writer and theater critic for ''The New Yor ...
,
Carlos Eire,
James Franco
James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Ma ...
,
John Lewis Gaddis
John Lewis Gaddis (born 1941) is an American international relations scholar, military historian, and writer. He is the Robert A. Lovett Professor of Military and Naval History at Yale University. He is best known for his work on the Cold War an ...
,
Henry Louis Gates
Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. (born September 16, 1950) is an American literary critic, professor, historian, and filmmaker, who serves as the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African and African Am ...
,
Linda Greenhouse,
Paul Kennedy
Paul Michael Kennedy (born 17 June 1945) is a British historian specialising in the history of international relations, economic power and grand strategy. He has published prominent books on the history of British foreign policy and great pow ...
,
Anthony Kronman,
Joyce Maynard
Daphne Joyce Maynard (born November 5, 1953) is an American novelist and journalist. She began her career in journalism in the 1970s, writing for several publications, most notably '' Seventeen'' magazine and ''The New York Times''. Maynard contr ...
,
Steven Smith,
Jeremy Strong, and
Lauren Willig. Recently deceased members include
Harold Bloom
Harold Bloom (July 11, 1930 – October 14, 2019) was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was described as "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking wor ...
and
David Swensen.
* Club founder Alexander Smith Cochran, heir to a carpet manufacturer, led an eventful life. Referred to on the eve of his "secret" marriage to the Polish opera singer Ganna Walska as "New York's Richest Bachelor", within a short period, he was contesting the marriage (he was her third of six husbands) as illegal, claiming her first husband was still living when Cochran married her, and they separated. Cochran's exploits socially, financially and in sailing (he headed America's Cup syndicates) were widely covered in newspapers of the day.
*
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film.
Born to ...
, a member himself according to some sources, although others say he was rejected for membership and responded with satirical compositions,
made reference to the club in two of his songs: "A Member of the Yale Elizabethan Club", a satirical description of a self-absorbed "Lizzie" member, and "Since We've Met," in which he satirizes a prudish couple, writing "We shrink at any oath except a soft 'Beelzebub.' / We're out-Elizabething the Elizabethan Club."
Notes
* Holden, Reuben A. ''Yale: A Pictorial History''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1967.
* Parks, Stephen. ''The Elizabethan Club of Yale University and Its Library: Centenary Edition.'' New Haven: Yale University Press, 2011.
* Havens, Earle. ''Gloriana: Monuments and Memorials of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth I.'' New Haven: The Elizabethan Club, 2006.
* Newton, Alfred Edward. ''A Magnificent Farce: And Other Diversions of a Book-collector. Boston: The Atlantic Monthly Press, 1921. P. 125.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Culture of Yale University
Clubs and societies in the United States
Organizations established in 1911
Literary societies