Dons Collection

1920S Pair in Bar
A louche couple sip cocktails in a fashionable bar; he dons a blue suit, she wears a coat with a fur neck and cuffs, but precious little else

Eve Adamised 1927
Eve Adamised : new woman in a liberated age dons male attire of suit & tie with hair in an Eton crop, but signals her gender with make-up, earings & a cigarette holder

Myth / Iliad / Patroclus
Patroclus, when his friend Achilles refuses to fight, dons his armour and goes into battle, only to be slain by Hector

Dr. Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol, photograph from The Times (sepia photo)
STC306692 Dr. Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol, photograph from The Times (sepia photo) by English Photographer, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Benjamin Jowett (1817-93)

New College, Oxford, from Oxonia Illustrata, published 1675 (engraving)
NCO183651 New College, Oxford, from Oxonia Illustrata, published 1675 (engraving) by Loggan, David (1633/35-92); Courtesy of the Warden and Scholars of New College

Oxford university big wigs and donations including Dr. Kett, Lord Greville, Dr. Grosvenor, Alderman Fletcher and Mr
FLO4618937 Oxford university big wigs and donations including Dr. Kett, Lord Greville, Dr. Grosvenor, Alderman Fletcher and Mr. Swan promenading on a Sunday

An Oxford university student tried and expelled by the donations for fighting. Golgotha or the Palace of Sculls
FLO4618899 An Oxford university student tried and expelled by the donations for fighting. Golgotha or the Palace of Sculls. Tom Echo receiving sentance of Rustication

Views of Merton College, Oxford: the Library, 1864. Creator: Mason Jackson
Views of Merton College, Oxford: the Library, 1864. 'Two sides of [the Mob Quadrangle] are occupied by the Library, built by William Rede, Fellow of the college in 1319

The Fete in Exeter College Gardens, 1850. Creator: Unknown
The Fete in Exeter College Gardens, [Oxford], 1850. Party given by the Rev. W. Sewell, President of the Oxford Architectural Society, ...in the College Gardens

The Great Schools of England - Charterhouse from the Green, 1862. Creator: Unknown
The Great Schools of England - Charterhouse from the Green, 1862. Charterhouse, a public school, was founded by Thomas Sutton in London in 1611 on the site of a Carthusian monastery

The man of today lays aside his frivolous evening dress clothes & dons a uniform - in this case an officer's uniform. Date: 1915

Conferring degrees in Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford (colour litho)
6010731 Conferring degrees in Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford (colour litho) by Bacon, John Henry Frederick (1868-1914) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: Conferring degrees in Sheldonian Theatre)

Chancellor (coloured engraving)
983019 Chancellor (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Chancellor. Illustration for The Costumes of the Members of the University of Cambridge)

Doctor of Music, Dress Gown of Doctor of Civil Law (coloured engraving)
983016 Doctor of Music, Dress Gown of Doctor of Civil Law (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Doctor of Music, Dress Gown of Doctor of Civil Law)

Master of Arts in Hat, Master of Arts with Hood and Band (coloured engraving)
983013 Master of Arts in Hat, Master of Arts with Hood and Band (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Master of Arts in Hat)

Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Clare Hall (coloured engraving)
983011 Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Clare Hall (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Clare Hall)

Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Catherine Hall (coloured engraving)
983005 Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Catherine Hall (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Catherine Hall)

Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Magdalen College (coloured engraving)
983002 Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Magdalen College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Magdalen College)

Fellow Commoners, Trinity College (coloured engraving)
983000 Fellow Commoners, Trinity College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fellow Commoners, Trinity College)

Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Trinity College (coloured engraving)
982999 Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Trinity College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Trinity College)

Attending Lectures (engraving)
2800922 Attending Lectures (engraving) by Bede, Cuthbert (1827-89); Private Collection; (add.info.: Attending Lectures. Illustration for The Adventures of Mr Verdant Green An Oxford Freshman by)

Show Sunday, A View in the Broad Walk, Christ Church Meadows, Oxford
3085916 Show Sunday, A View in the Broad Walk, Christ Church Meadows, Oxford, from " The English Spy", pub. 1824 (hand coloured engraving) by Cruikshank

Varnish tree or wax tree
Varnish tree, Ailanthus altissima, or wax tree, Rhus succedanea. (Albonia peregrina, Nobis. Rhus succedaneum, Linn.) Le faux vernix

Ichthyosaur, Plesiosaur and Pterosaurs
Ichthyosaur and Plesiosaur fighting at left, Pterosaurs at right. Fantastic image copied from a mezzotint by John Martin from Thomas Hawkins Book of the Great Sea-Dragons

Quadrangle of Kings College, Cambridge (pen & w / c on paper)
NP125739 Quadrangle of Kings College, Cambridge (pen & w/c on paper) by Rowlandson, Thomas (1756-1827); 22.9x31.1 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: engraved by the artist and pub)

New College, Oxford, from Oxonia Illustrata, published 1675 (engraving)
STC171680 New College, Oxford, from Oxonia Illustrata, published 1675 (engraving) by Loggan, David (1633/35-92); Private Collection; (add.info)

Japanese iris or hanashobu, Iris ensata (Dons flower de luce, Iris doniana). Handcoloured copperplate engraving after Edwin Dalton Smith from John Lindley

Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Divinity (coloured engraving)
983017 Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Divinity (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Divinity)

Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Gaius College (coloured engraving)
983010 Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Gaius College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Gaius College)

Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Sidney Sussex College (coloured engraving)
982997 Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Sidney Sussex College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Sidney Sussex College)

Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, from Oxonia Illustrata, published 1675 (engraving)
STC174256 Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, from Oxonia Illustrata, published 1675 (engraving) by Loggan, David (1633/35-92); Private Collection; (add.info)

Jesus College, 1903 (colour litho)
STC364739 Jesus College, 1903 (colour litho) by Fulleylove, John (1847-1908); Private Collection; (add.info.: Founded in 1571 by Elizabeth I (1533-1603) for the education of clergy;

Frontispiece, from "The English Spy", pub. 1824 (hand coloured engraving)
3085942 Frontispiece, from " The English Spy", pub. 1824 (hand coloured engraving) by Cruikshank, Isaac Robert (1789-1856); Private Collection; (add.info)

Proctors (coloured engraving)
983015 Proctors (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Proctors. Illustration for The Costumes of the Members of the University of Cambridge (H Hyde)

Pensioner of Pembroke College in mourning, Pensioner, Christs College (coloured engraving)
983004 Pensioner of Pembroke College in mourning, Pensioner, Christs College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info)

Pensoner, Fellow Commoner, St Johns College (coloured engraving)
983003 Pensoner, Fellow Commoner, St Johns College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pensoner, Fellow Commoner, St Johns College)

Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Corpus Christi College (coloured engraving)
983001 Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Corpus Christi College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Corpus Christi College)

Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Downing College (coloured engraving)
982996 Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Downing College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Downing College)

Bachelors of Arts (coloured engraving)
983012 Bachelors of Arts (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Bachelors of Arts)

Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Pembroke College and Trinity Hall (coloured engraving)
983009 Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Pembroke College and Trinity Hall (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fellow Commoner, Pensioner)

Pensioners, Fellow Commoner, Jesus College (coloured engraving)
983007 Pensioners, Fellow Commoner, Jesus College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pensioners, Fellow Commoner, Jesus College)

Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Queens College and Peterhouse (coloured engraving)
983006 Fellow Commoner, Pensioner, Queens College and Peterhouse (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Fellow Commoner, Pensioner)

Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Emmanuel College (coloured engraving)
982998 Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Emmanuel College (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Pensioner, Fellow Commoner, Emmanuel College)

Punch cartoon: Commemoration Week at Oxford University (engraving)
6035026 Punch cartoon: Commemoration Week at Oxford University (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Punch cartoon: Commemoration Week at Oxford University)

Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford (engraving)
5230505 Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford (engraving) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Divinity School, Bodleian Library, Oxford)

Golgotha, or the Place of the Sculls, from "The English Spy", pub
3085929 Golgotha, or the Place of the Sculls, from " The English Spy", pub. 1824 (hand coloured engraving) by Cruikshank

"Sent Down", a Cambridge Undergraduates Protest against the Action of the Dons (engraving)
1047542 " Sent Down", a Cambridge Undergraduates Protest against the Action of the Dons (engraving) by English School

Noblemen at Cambridge, Dress Gown, Undress Gown (coloured engraving)
983014 Noblemen at Cambridge, Dress Gown, Undress Gown (coloured engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Noblemen at Cambridge, Dress Gown, Undress Gown)

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"Dons: Guardians of Tradition and Knowledge" In the smoky ambiance of a 1920s bar, two figures engage in lively conversation. Dressed impeccably, they exude an air of sophistication that harks back to a bygone era. These are the "dons, " scholars who embody the intellectual spirit of their time. One cannot help but be reminded of Eve's temptation in 1927, as these dons possess an alluring charm that captivates those around them. Like characters from ancient mythologies or Homer's Iliad, they seem to have stepped out from another world - perhaps even Patroclus himself would feel at home among them. Dr. Benjamin Jowett, Master of Balliol College at Oxford University, gazes at us through sepia-toned lenses captured by The Times. His wise countenance reflects years spent nurturing young minds and upholding academic excellence. Speaking of Oxford University, we catch a glimpse of New College as it appeared in Oxonia Illustrata back in 1675. This engraving transports us to a time when education was revered and cherished for its transformative power. But donning is not limited to academic robes; it extends beyond academia into various realms. In 1915, amidst the chaos of war, men shed their frivolous evening dress clothes and embraced uniforms with pride – officers ready to serve their country selflessly. The Sheldonian Theatre witnesses countless moments where degrees are conferred upon deserving individuals – each ceremony marking a milestone achieved through dedication and perseverance. From chancellor to Doctorate holders adorned in colorful regalia such as Dress Gown for Doctorate Music or Civil Law – each signifies mastery over specific fields while adding splendor to this grand tradition. Mastering arts comes with its own distinctive attire - hats symbolizing knowledge acquired along with hoods representing accomplishments earned throughout one's educational journey. Within Cambridge University lies Clare Hall - where Fellow Commoners and Pensioners find solace in their pursuit of knowledge.