Conditions Governing Use:

Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

Conditions Governing Access:

Collection is open to all researchers. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.

Custodial History:

Acc. 1987.36 was initially part of the Manuscripts Collection (Mss Acc. 1943-123) before being transferred to the University Archives.

Preferred Citation:

Colonial Echo records, Special Collections Research Center, William & Mary Libraries.

Acquisition Information:

Acc. 1987.36, gift of E. G. Swem, Jr., was received on 1/26/1987. Addition 2022.232 was donated by Gina Woodward.

Processing Information

The Colonial Echo records was formerly named Colonial Echo photographs.

Historical Note:

The Colonial Echo, the William & Mary student yearbook, began publication in 1899. There were no volumes produced in 1900 or 1904.

Scope and Contents

The collection includes photographs and artifacts created for use in the College of William and Mary yearbook, the Colonial Echo.  Note that many yearbook photographs may be part of the University Archives Photograph Collection due to the various copies made over time and the irregular accessioning of these photographs.

Acc. 1987.036 is an album containing photographs used by EG Swem,Jr., as business manager, in the preparation of the 1931 Colonial Echo, Presented by EG Swem,Jr. January 26,1943.

Acc. 1988.78 consists of photographs used in the 1974 Colonial Echo organized by the page on which they were published. An inventory of this group of photographs is available in the Box List section of this finding aid.

Acc. 1991.054 consists of three boxes of photographs of individual students, information and photographs of student groups and activities, scenes of campus and the surrounding area, and occasionally administrators and faculty during 1986-1987. An inventory of this group of photographs is available in the Box List section of this finding aid.

Acc. 1994.60 consists of 2 boxes of unsorted photographs. Box 1 contains 1988 Colonial Echo photos, Box 2 contains 1991-1992 Colonial Echo photos.

Acc. 1999.081 is negatives possibly from the Colonial Echo.

Acc. 2010.439 Contains prints and negatives of photographs submitted to the student yearbook Colonial Echo for their annual publication, circa 2000 to 2004. The bulk of the photographs are images of student life, including athletics, student organizations, and fraternities and sororities. The photographs also consist of images from Convocation, Charter Day, Commencement, Last Day of Classes, faculty and staff, and individual student head shots for the yearbook.

Related Material

University Archives Photograph Collection

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Athletics
• College of William and Mary--Commencement
• College of William and Mary--History--20th century
• College of William and Mary--Students
• Fraternities--Social
• Negatives
• Photographs
• Sororities--Social
• Student Life--1970's
• Student Life--1980's
• Student Organizations--Colonial Echo