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The Society of Book and Snake is the fourth oldest secret society at Yale University. Book and Snake was founded at the Sheffield Scientific School in 1863 as a three-year society bearing the Greek letters Sigma Delta Chi [1]. As other "Sheff" societies, it was once residential and maintained a separate residential "cloister" on Hillhouse Ave, which was built in 1888 and deeded to Yale after the institution of the residential college system. Each year Book and Snake taps 16 new members, 8 male and 8 female. This is in contrast to most other senior societies, which tap 15. Members are said to be leaders in different activities on campus and representative of Yale's academic, athletic, artistic and social scenes.
B&S became a Yale senior society in 1933, and was the first senior secret society at Yale to accept minorities and women. (However, Manuscript and St. Elmo claim the first female tap, while another former "Sheff" secret society, St. Anthony Hall, as a three-year society, was able to tap female sophomores after Yale College became co-ed in 1969.)
Like other landed Yale societies, Book and Snake owns its own meeting hall, or "tomb." As is traditional with the meeting places of Yale societies, the building is windowless and available only to the current members and alumni; parties have been held that include friends of members, however. Inside the tomb, each alumnus customarily leaves his or her own pewter or glass tankard with his/her name inscribed, hung on hooks in their dining area for their use whenever they return, making tangible a display of the generations that have come before. It is said that when a member is deceased, his or her tankard is symbolically destroyed by breaking or piercing the glass or metal bottom of the tankard.
Architects of the Book & Snake Buildings
- Louis R. Metcalfe. (1901, Greek Ionic. The front door is modeled after the Erechtheion Temple on the Acropolis in Athens. Passersby will notice wrought-iron snakes, or "cadeuces" adorning the iron fence surrounding the property. The white marble temple, startling in its Classical Greek verisimilitude, is deliberately situated with its back to the Yale campus; instead its orientation facing directly across the street to the massive Egyptian-revival gates of the Grove Street Cemetery, makes for an impressive display of ancient, mortuary-themed solemnity. Citation at [2].) Their emblem is a book surrounded by the ouroboros.
- J. Edwards Ficken. (1888, residential hall known as "Cloister". Citation and picture at [3] and at [4].)
Architectural historian Scott Meacham cites both of Book & Snake's buildings in his study of Yale and Dartmouth society and fraternity architecture. [5] Also, references in architectural historian Patrick L. Pinnell's 1999 book "Yale University" 1999 Princeton Architectural Press ISBN 1568981678 [6].) Also pictured in[7]
1865 photo of founding Members at: [8]
See also
External links
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