Lillian Ann Gibbins, The Girl Graduate : Her Own Book

This gift book was used as a scrapbook by Lillian Ann Gibbins to commemorate her graduation from St. Elizabeth Academy in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1926.

The printed gift book was designed and illustrated by Louise Perrett and Sarah K. Smith and provided Gibbins with space to assemble ephemera and memories from her time at St. Elizabeth Academy. Although Gibbins graduated in June 1926, the book contains items dating from at least 1924 to 1929. At the front of the volume there is a table of contents listing the sections of the book, which include spaces for class photographs, class autographs, invitations, and press notices. Gibbins did not complete the entire book, leaving sections on the class prophecy, presents, and baccalaureate sermon empty. Under the section for class colors, Gibbins wove a piece of light blue ribbon into the page. She included several class photographs, photographs of herself, and a black and white silhouette of a girl with a bobbed haircut that she simply labeled “me.” Several loose photographs at the end of the volume show Gibbins in later decades.

In the “class autographs” section of the book, Gibbins’s classmates recorded their well-wishes and signatures. Several included poignant or humorous aphorisms. Classmate Ruth Reidel promised she would be Gibbins’s friend “till Santa Shaves.” Nympha Brockelmann inscribed a brief poem: “Lillian Lillian mind your mother/Mind her with Grace/When the boys kiss you/Slap them in the face.” Gibbins included one photograph of a teacher, identified as Sister M. Agnella. The last several sections of the volume contain party invitations dating from 1924 to 1926, newspaper clippings regarding marriages and parties, and greeting cards from 1925 to 1929. On the final page there is a yellow paper parasol with Gibbins’s name attached.

This volume is bound with a purple suede cover with the title “The Girl Graduate/Her Own Book” gilt stamped on the front. Below the title is a blind stamped design of a pen and a book. The volume’s pastedowns and flyleaves consist of gold paper. A stamped bookplate on the first page reads “This book belongs to/Lillian Ann Gibbins/Graduated from/St. Elizabeth Academy.” The title page is printed in blue and yellow with a young woman surrounded by yellow flowers. It reads “The Girl Graduate/Her Own Book/Designed and illustrated/by/Louise Perrett/and/Sarah K. Smith/The Reilly and Lee Co./Chicago.” The accompanying box has a gray marbled exterior. The box top reads “The Girl Graduate/Her Own Book” in gold lettering. There is a gold oval cartouche at the center of the box top with an illustration of a young woman surrounded by flowers. The bottom edge of the box top reads “The Girl Graduate/Ooze” in print with the word “GREEN” stamped below. On the underside of the box top there is a pencil inscription that reads “Harvey B. Roy/ 10/28/26.”