Collections Item Detail

Scope and ContentAutograph book belonging to Mildred Avantario, Hoboken, June 24, 1940. Graduation, Joseph F. Brandt Jr. High School. Padded embossed brown leather cover; gilt stamped "Autographs" on front cover; full zipper closure; 5-3/4" high x 6-1/2" wide x circa 7/8" thick. Unpaginated, 96 leaves plus six black paper leaves for photographs (which are unused.) Enclosure, laid-in: mimeographed card "Honor Roll, Joseph F. Brandt Junior High School" dated May 1940 for Mildred Avantario. (This item was accompanied by two photographs attributed as Avantario in photographer's frames (display easels), photo catalog 2009.006.0074 and .0075. The first one apparently is a formal studio portrait taken for this graduation. The other, .0075, is another formal studio photo apparently taken three years later for her high school graduation.) Almost all leaves have been used. Although the owner dated this on the first page as June 24th which was the actual day of graduation from the 9th grade, many dated inscriptions are from earlier in June. Includes some teacher's names, but only last names. Legible full names of 59 signers are in notes. Girls referred to themselves as "Sister graduate" or "grad u 8." Typical entries of the day include a recurring motif of using the phrase "for" "get" "me" "not" or "Your's Until Niagara Falls" in the four corners of a leaf. Notable is a leaf with a partial printed card pasted on it from the 1939-1940 New York World's Fair. It has the penciled autograph of Buster Crabbe which Avantario recorded as "Buster Crabee in Aquacade. Autograph [with arrow drawn to it.] World's Fair 1940, June 27, 1940, Thursday." (Crabbe, a champion swimmer, was starring in the Billy Rose Aquacade that year, but he was already quite famous as a motion picture star and was the only film actor to portray all three of the major fantasy serial characters of the 1930s - Tarzan, Flash Gordon, and Buck Rogers.) The honor roll notice, 3" x 5" wide, was signed in facsimile by J.G. Coleman, Principal and M.L. Coyle, Assistant Principal.