University Heights Time Capsule
Call Number
Dates
Creator
Extent
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Language of Materials
Abstract
This collection consists of a time capsule assembled in the early 1960s by members of the Perstare et Praestare Society, an academic honor society for NYU students at the University Heights Campus. The collection includes the titanium time capsule container as well as the items selected for inclusion. These items include a variety of NYU-produced publications, course syllabi, audio recordings, and ephemera documenting the different student populations, extracurricular student activities such as student productions of dramatic works, and notable campus events such as commencement. The collection also reflects the larger political climate of the early 1960s, through materials like election leaflets, publications concerning the John F. Kennedy presidential administration and his assassination, and ephemera from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) documenting on-campus civil rights. This collection also includes numerous programs for ceremonies for the Hall of Fame of Great Americans, an outdoor sculpture garden on campus featuring portrait busts of noted artists, intellectuals, and politicians.
Historical Note
This time capsule was assembled through the efforts of multiple people. David Fleischmann (UC '60), convened a committee of members of the Perstare et Praestare Society, an academic honor society for NYU students, to select the objects included in the time capsule. Dr. John P. Nielsen of the department of metallurgy and materials sciences assisted the committee, and Dr. Harold Margolin, professor of metallurgical engineering, designed the time capsule itself. The time capsule was made of titanium and filled with helium before being sealed. It was buried in 1964 on the University Heights campus although more specific information concerning when and where the burial took place has not yet been recorded.
Arrangement
This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. Original order is unknown.
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of a time capsule assembled in the early 1960s by members of the Perstare et Praestare Society, an academic honor society for NYU students at the University Heights Campus. The collection includes the titanium time capsule container as well as the items selected for inclusion. These items include a variety of NYU-produced publications, course syllabi, audio recordings, and ephemera documenting the different student populations, extracurricular student activities such as student productions of dramatic works, and notable campus events such as commencement. The collection also reflects the larger political climate of the early 1960s, through materials like election leaflets, publications concerning the John F. Kennedy presidential administration and his assassination, and ephemera from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) documenting on-campus civil rights. This collection also includes numerous programs for ceremonies for the Hall of Fame of Great Americans, an outdoor sculpture garden on campus featuring portrait busts of noted artists, intellectuals, and politicians.
Subjects
Conditions Governing Access
Administrative records and unpublished reports of New York University are closed for a period of 20 years from the date of their creation. Access to files spanning multiple years will be opened to researchers based on the date of the most recent materials. Board of Trustees records are closed for 35 years from the date of creation. Materials related to personnel, grievances, job and fellowship searches and applications, and all files that fall under the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) are permanently restricted. Additional restrictions may apply to other materials in this collection. For questions regarding specific restrictions, please contact the University Archives.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by the creator are maintained by New York University. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from New York University Archives, (212) 998-2646, university-archives@nyu.edu.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; University Heights Time Capsule; MC 269; box number; folder number; New York University Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Documentation concerning the full chain of provenance for this time capsule and the materials included in it is incomplete. The time capsule was identified as part of the New York University Archives collection in 1993; the accession number associated is 2017.008.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Access to audiovisual materials in this collection is available through digitized access copies. Researchers may view an item's original container, but the media themselves are not available for playback because of preservation concerns. Materials that have already been digitized are noted in the collection's finding aid and can be requested in our reading room.
About this Guide
Processing Information
At the time of accessioning, items were removed from the titanium time capsule and placed into archival housing. The time capsule has been retained but is stored separately from the materials previously housed inside. As materials were rehoused according to their size, intellectual arrangement does not reflect physical arrangement. Materials were described on the collection-level with an item-level inventory. No other arrangement, description, or physical interventions have been taken on this collection at this point. In 2019 memorabilia was rehoused by Preservation and sent offsite. In 2019 the 1893 map of the University Heights campus was damaged while on exhibition and was treated by the Barbara Goldsmith Preservation and Conservation Department. In January 2020 the map was rehoused in a flat-file folder.