Y.W.C.A. Mixer, 3 Autograph Original Cards, documents Social Medium a century Before Facebook and Instagram in Iowa 1922

Y W. C A. Social Medium

Ephemera

[Women’s Social History — Student Culture.] Y.M.C.A.–Y.W.C.A. Mixer Autograph Booklets. Iowa State College, September 29, 1922. Set of 3 original printed autograph booklets, each 4 pages; all completed in manuscript. Rare surviving set of three printed autograph booklets issued for a Y.M.C.A.–Y.W.C.A. social mixer held at Iowa State College on September 29, 1922. Each small four-page booklet was designed with printed prompts allowing participants to record the “Name” and “Home Address” of new acquaintances made during the event. All three examples are fully filled in with pen and pencil signatures, preserving dozens of contemporaneous manuscript entries. These ephemeral social documents functioned as structured tools for interpersonal networking within early twentieth-century collegiate culture, facilitating supervised interaction between men’s and women’s student groups at a moment when coeducational socialization remained carefully mediated. The forms’ printed headings and orderly manuscript entries capture a century-old analogue to modern digital networking platforms—demonstrating how young adults documented new social connections long before electronic media or online social profiles.

The Y.M.C.A. and Y.W.C.A. played central roles in shaping student moral, religious, and social life in American colleges during the Progressive Era. Founded in the nineteenth century, these organizations promoted Protestant values, civic responsibility, and gendered codes of conduct while also fostering structured social spaces for young men and women navigating coeducational environments. By 1922, women’s higher education had expanded significantly, yet social interactions between male and female students were often organized through sanctioned mixers such as this one. The autograph booklets therefore offer insight into the gendered architecture of early twentieth-century campus life—revealing how institutions balanced moral oversight with growing student autonomy. For historians of women’s education, youth culture, and associational life, these completed booklets preserve the lived social networks of a specific cohort of students at a Midwestern land-grant institution during the interwar period, documents Social Medium a century Before Facebook and Instagram. Light handling wear consistent with use; manuscript entries strong and legible throughout. Overall condition: Very Good.

Item #16468

Price: $285.00