1938 Commerce Violet; The School of Commerce New York University 1938

New York: the University, 1938. 284p., glossy paperstock throughout much in the vein of lesser school yearbooks but ratcheted up to a Big Business production. Hardbound in massive 12.5x9 inch black cloth boards with pressed decoration and titling in raised bronze, doublespread photographic endsheets, running borders in purple ("violet") ink. Cover is badly frayed at top and tail of backstrip, but the book overall is is pretty good shape: sound hinges, no markings, no autographs or ownership. Laid in is an "In Memoriam" sheet with photo. Looking over lists of boardmen we see David Sarnoff (1931), Cass Canfield (33), a Roosevelt, and many names we should (truncated) know but don't. There is no "Jokes" section, yet joking abounds. Yes, there is a Sports section, but one overshadowed by business emphasis and particular making-money groupings. Except in candid shots of dances and The Prom, women and men are separated; following the standard portrait vignettes of women students (a sizeable group, though there's way more men) find a dozen or so fullpage glamour photos of those ladies thought to be the most comely. (Inventory #: 238182)