Dobbertin Collection of Campus Humor Magazines

The Dobbertin Collection, a generous gift to Special Collections from John and Barbara Dobbertin, may be the largest collection of college humor magazines in the United States. John Dobbertin is a former editor of the Michigan Gargoyle — hence his deep affection for campus humor magazines and appreciation of their history.

Cover of the UW-Madison campus humor magazine, Octopus (1953). From the Dobbertin Collection, Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Dobbertin Collection ranges from the late 19th century to the 21st, and addresses topics both light-hearted and controversial. Some of the humor stands well the test of time, while other jokes and cartoons make today’s readers cringe.

The collection was showcased in a series of exhibits in 2008:

“The Art of College Humor: Highlights from the Dobbertin Collection of Campus Humor Magazines” (Special Collections)
“College Humor to Italian Tesserae: Celebrating the Centennial of James S. Watrous,” (Kohler Art Library)
Preview exhibit of cover art from campus humor magazines (Memorial Union). The Union’s Web site includes an audio podcast for the Memorial Union exhibit.

For more about these exhibits and the Dobbertin Collection, see

Jenny Price, “New exhibits show art of college humor, James Watrous,” University of Wisconsin-Madison News
“The wit and wisdom of campus humor,” in the Friends of the Library Magazine, pp. 12-13.

We are eager to broaden the coverage of the campus humor magazine collection, and invite additions to the collection from your own piles of college memorabilia, whatever your alma mater. For information about the collection or about making a gift, please contact the Curator of Special Collections by email or by telephone at (608) 262-2809. Although the UW-Madison Archives holds a set of the UW’s Sphinx and Octopus (and has digitized some of them), we in Special Collections would also welcome issues of those two titles for our multi-institution collection of campus humor magazines.

What follows is a lengthy list of the holdings in the Dobbertin Collection, arranged by institution and then date (or volume number):

Boston University. Bean Pot.

Jan 1930

Columbia University. Jester.

Mar 1927
Mar 1928
May 1929
1931 May
vol. 47, no. 1.

Cover of the Jester, campus humor magazine at Columbia University. poking fun at Eisenhower. From the Dobbertin Collection, Department of Special Collections, Memorial Library, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Cornell University. Widow.

1904-05
Dec 1926
1929-30
Nov 1938
1948-49
Oct 1950
Apr 1951
May 1951
May 1952
Nov 1959

Franklin & Marshall College. Hulla Baloo.

Nov 1928
Vol. 11, no. 1 (1928)

Harvard University. Harvard Lampoon.

1876-78 (bound vol.)
1878-80 (bound vol.)
1881-85 (bound vol.)
Nov 1881
Dec 1881
Feb 1882
Mar 1882
Apr 1882
May 1882
Jun 1882
Oct 1882
Nov 1882
Dev 1882
Jan 1883
Mar 1883
Apr 1883
May 1883
Jun 1883
Oct 1883
Nov 1883
Dec 1883
Jan 1884
Feb 1884
Apr 1884
May 1884
Jun 1884
Nov 1884
Dec 1884
Jan 1885
Feb 1885
Mar 1885
May 1885
Jun 1885
1885-87 (bound vol.)
Oct 1885

Jan 1886
Nov 1886
May 1887
Jun 1887
Feb 1888
May 1888
Jan 1890
Feb 1890
Mar 1890
Apr 1890
May 1890
Jun 1890
Nov 1890
Feb 1891
Feb 1892
Jun 1895
Dec 1900
Jan 1901
Mar 1901
Jun 1901
Oct 1901
Nov 1901
Oct 1911
Nov 1911
Dec 1915
1916-17 (bound vol.)
Feb 1917
Mar 1917
Apr 1918
Nov 1918
May 1919
Jan 1920
Mar 1920
May 1920
Oct 1920

Nov 1920
Dec 1920
Jan 1921
Feb 1921
Mar 1921
Apr 1921
May 1921
Sep 1921
Nov 1921
Mar 1922
Feb 1926
May 1926
Jan 1927
Feb 1928
Jun 1928
May 1935
Oct 1935
Dec 1935
Sep 1936
Nov 1936
Oct 1938
May 1939
Oct 1943
Nov 1946
Dec 1946
Jan 1947
Feb 1947
May 1947
Sep 1952
Nov 1956
May 1958
Jul 1958
Oct 1958
fall 1981
fall 1982

Hobart College. Pot.

[1954?]

Lehigh University. Lehigh Burr.

Jan 1930

MIT. Voo Doo.

Apr 1926
May 1926
Apr 1927
Oct 1950
Nov 1950
Dec 1950
Oct 1951
Dec 1951
Jan 1953
May 1953
May 1953
Nov 1953
Nov 1953
Mar 1954
Mar 1954
Feb 1958
Feb 1958
Jan 1959
Nov 1959

Muir College (University of California, San Diego). Muir Quarterly.

Nov 1996
Dec 1997
Apr 1998
Jun 1998
Oct 1998
Nov 1998
Dec 1998
Jan 1999
Mar 1999
Apr 1999
Oct 1999
Sept 2002
Mar 2003
Mar 2003
Nov 2003
Mar 2004
Apr 2004
May 2004
Sep 2004
Oct 2004
Nov 2004
Feb 2005
Apr 2005
May 2005
Jun 2005
Sep 2005
Oct 2005
Nov 2005
Feb 2006
Mar 2006
May 2006
May 2006
Sep 2006

Northwestern University. Purple Parrot.

Jan 1929
Dec 1937
Nov 1938
Dec 1938
Feb 1939
Apr 1942

Ohio State University. Sun Dial.

1928-29 (bound vol.)
Oct 1932
Apr 1955
Dec 1959
Nov 1959
Jan 1960
Jun 1960
May 1960
Jan 1961
May 1962

Penn State University. Froth.

Vol. 16, no. 1 (1924)
Jun 1924
Oct 1924
Nov 1924
Dec 1924
Jan 1925
Feb 1925
Mar 1925
Apr 1925
May 1925
Jun-Jul 1925
Sep 1925
Oct 1925
Nov 1925
Dec 1925
Feb 1926
Mar 1926
Apr 1926
Jun 1926
Sep 1926
Oct 1926
Nov 1926
Dec 1926
Jan 1927
11-Feb 1927
27-Feb 1927
Mar 1927
Jun 1927
Jun 1928
Jan 1938
Jul 1943
Apr 1947
Oct 1947
Feb 1948
Mar 1948
Apr 1948
May 1948
Oct 1948
Nov 1948
Mar 1949
Apr 1949
May 1949
Oct 1966

Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. Scope.

Nov 1930
Dec 1930

Princeton University. Princeton Tiger.

Dec 20, 1894
Nov 1898
Dec 1898
Dec 1899
Feb 1899
Jan 1899
Mar 1899
Apr 1900
Feb 1900
Jan 1900
Mar 1900
May 1900
Vol. 32 (1922)
Jan 1923
Mar 1923
1923-24 (beginning Apr 1923)
1924-25 (beginning Apr 1924)
1925-26 (beginning Apr 1925)
Nov 1937
24-Mar 1938
19-May 1938
Feb 1938
Mar 1938
Mar 1942
Dec 1948
Dec 1949
Mar 1961
Dec 1962
Nov 1962
Nov 1963
Apr 1976
Apr 1976
Oct 1978
Dec 2002
Feb 2004
Mar 2004
Oct 2004
Dec 2005
Feb 2005
Mar 2005
Nov 2005
2005 Reunion
Apr 2006
Feb 2006
Nov 2006
Sep 2006
Nov 2006
Reunion issue 2006
Apr 2007
Feb 2007
Nov 2007
Nov 2007
Sep 2007
Sep 2007
Apr 2008
Jan 2008
Jan 2008
fall (no year)

Stanford University. Chaparral.

Dec 1901
Feb 1902
Nov 1902
Oct 1904
Oct 1904
Apr 1905
May 1905
Jan 1908
28-Apr 1910
Feb 1924
Feb 1924
Jan 1925
Jan 1925
Feb 1928
1935-36
Jan 1936
Apr 1941
Feb 1943
May 1948
Oct 1948
Feb 1949
Mar 1949
Apr 1949
Jun 1949
Nov 1949
Apr 1950
Oct 1952
May 1953
Dec 1954
Jan 1955

Texas Tech University. Texas Travesty.

Sep 2006
Oct 2006

U.S. Military Academy. Pointer.

1-Jan 1936
17-Jan 1936

University of California, Berkeley. Heuristic Squelch.

Sep 1999
Dec 1999
Feb 2000
Apr 2000
Sep 2000
Sep (B) 2000
Dec 2000
Jan 2001
Mar 2001
Apr 2001
May 2001
Feb 2002
Oct 2003
Jan 2004
Sep 2004
Oct 2004
Nov 2004
Mar 2005
Apr 2005
Sep 2005
Oct 2005
Nov 2005
Jan 2006
Feb 2006
Aug 2006

University of California. Pelican.

1940 (bound vol.)

University of Iowa. Frivol.

Jan 1948
Oct 1948
Feb 1949
Apr 1949
May 1949
Jun 1949

University of Michigan. Gargoyle.

1909-10
Dec 1919
Mar 1920
Oct 1920
Nov 1920
Feb 1921
Mar 1921
Apr 1921
May 1921
Feb 1922
Mar 1922
May 1922
Jan 1933
Mar 1934
Jan 1936
Nov 1936
Jan 1938
Mar 1938
Jun 1938
Nov 1938
Feb 1939
May 1939
Apr 1941
Oct 1941
Nov 1941
Feb 1942
Mar 1942
Apr 1943
May 1946
Jun 1946
Mar 1947
Dec 1947
Mar 1950
Sep 1954
Mar [1956?]
Vol. 50, spring (May[?] 1956)
Nov 1956
Feb 1960
Oct 1962
May 1963
Oct 1963
Dec 1963
Apr 1964
Sep 1964
Nov 1964
Mar 1965
Sep 1965
Nov 1965
Feb 1966
Feb 1966
Sep 1966
Feb 1967
Feb 1968
Nov 1967
Mar 1968
Oct 1968
Jan 1969
Apr 1969
Nov 1969
Nov 1971
Jan 1975
Spring 1979
Feb 1981
Apr 1981
Apr 1982
Dec 1982
1982
Mar 1983
Nov 1983
Dec 1983
Apr 1984
Nov 1985
Mar 1986
1986
Apr 1987
Nov 1987
1988
Apr 1989
Nov 1989
1990
Oct 1991
1991
Jan 1992
Mar 1992
Mar 1992
Nov 1992
1992
Jan 1993
Mar 1993
Mar 1993
Apr 1993
Sep 1993
Nov 1993
Jan 1994
Mar 1994
Apr 1994
Dec 1994
1994
Mar 1995
Sep 1995
Nov 1995
Dec 1995
Feb 1996
Mar 1997
Apr 1997
Nov/Dec 1997
1997
1997
Feb 1998
Jan 1999
Feb 1999
Feb 1999
Oct 1999
Dec 1999
Feb 2000
Apr 2000
Oct 2000
Dec 2000
Feb 2001
Apr 2001
Oct 2001
Dec 2001
Feb 2002
Dec 2002
Apr 2003
Oct 2003
Dec 2003
Feb 2004
Apr 2004
Sep 2004
Nov 2004
Dec 2004
Mar 2005
Autumn 2005
Fall 2005
Spring 2005
Spring 2006
Summer 2006
Winter 2006
Vol. 99, no. 1-4 (2007)
Oct 2007
Spring 2008

University of Minnesota. Ski-U-Mah.

Nov 1929
Oct 1929
Jan 1930
May 1930
Dec 1935
May 1945
Nov 1946

University of Pennsylvania. Punch Bowl.

1909 (bound vol. 11, no. 1-8)
1910 (bound vol. 12, no. 1-8)
1911 (bound vol. 13, no. 1-8)
1912-13 (vol. 14, no. 1-8, beginning Apr 1912)
Oct 1935
Oct 1936

University of Pittsburgh. Panther.

Oct 1923
Dec 1925

University of Wisconsin. Octopus.

Please note: The University Archives holds full runs of the Sphinx and the Octopus.

Vol. 1, no. 1
1920, no. 4
Jun 1920
Vol. 8, no. 5
1921, no. 4
May 1921
Nov 1926
1927, no. 3
Apr 1927
May 1927
Vol. 9, no. 1
Oct 1927
1927, no. 12
Jan 1928
1928, no. 2-5, 9-12
1929, no. 10-12
1930, no. 1-5
1931, no. 10
1953, no. 10
1954, no. 2, 3, 6
1955, no. 3-5
1956, no. 4

Cover of The sphinx (Oct. 7, 1903), campus humor magazine at the University of Wisconsin. UW-Archives, also available in the UW Digital Collections.

Cover of the “Football Number” of the Octopus (1922). UW-Madison Archives.

Williams College. Purple Cow.

1917-19
Nov 1941
Mar 1942
May 1942
Jun 1942
Sep 1942
Oct 1942
Jan 1943
May 1945

Yale University. Yale Record.

1874-75
2-Oct 1880
15-Oct 1892
Nov 1913
28-Nov 1913
Jan 1920
Dec 1927
7-Dec 1927
Mar 1933
Apr 1933
May 1933
Oct 1933
Nov 1933
Jun 1934
Sep 1934
Nov 1934
Dec 1934
Oct 1935
Nov 1935
Jan 1936
Mar 1936
Apr 1936
May 1936
Oct 1940
Sep 1946
Oct 1946
Mar 1947
Apr 1947
May 1947
Jun 1947
Sep 1949
9-Sep 1949
Mar 1950
May 1959
Apr 1960
May 1960
Sep 1960
May 1961
Sep 1961
Mar 1962
Oct 1962
Sep 1963
Oct 1963

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