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Inside Spencer: The KSRL Blog

Books on a shelf

Welcome to the Kenneth Spencer Research Library blog! As the special collections and archives library at the University of Kansas, Spencer is home to remarkable and diverse collections of rare and unique items. Explore the blog to learn about the work we do and the materials we collect.

Yearbook in a Box: The 1971 Jayhawker

Unique, playful, interactive” are words that describe the 1971 Jayhawker. Packaged in a blue box, the yearbook stands out amongst those that came before and after.

1971 Jayhawker box

Box housing the parts of the 1971 Jayhawker yearbook

Inside, however, are the usual contents to any Jayhawker yearbook: sections on athletics, the seniors, Greek life, administration, hot topics, and more. But the way in which they were presented was unusual, satirical, and perhaps a commentary on the year that was by the Jayhawker staff. For example, the section on Greek life was titled “Agricultural Almanac of Flowering Plants in Eastern Kansas.”

Another part included an interactive “Love Sun” mobile. To see what this Love Sun mobile actually looked like, I put one together for the University Archives. Below are pictures from this endeavor, with the completed Love Sun hanging in the University Archives in front of the yearbook collection.

 

Constructing Love Sun card mobile from 1971 Jayhawker yearbook  Step 2_1971 yearbook

Left: Instructions for making the Love Sun mobile. Right: The six cards that form the mobile.

Step 3_1971 yearbook  Constructing Love Sun card mobile from 1971 Jayhawker yearbook

Right and left: Constructing the Love Sun mobile.

Constructing Love Sun card mobile from 1971 Jayhawker yearbook

Completed Love Sun mobile hanging in the University Archives.

 

JoJo Palko
KU Sesquicentennial Research Assistant
University Archives

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