[Porter, Cole. (1891–1964)]
Collection of Programs and Ephemera from the Yale Glee, Banjo and Mandolin Clubs, all featuring Cole Porter
An interesting collection of four 1911–1912 programs and two stickers from the Yale Glee, Banjo and Mandolin Clubs, from the estate of Cole Porter. The programs are dated January 16, 1911, April 7, 1911, June 19, 1911, and January 15, 1912, and list Porter as a second tenor in the Yale Glee Club, as well as the performer of a monologue, the soloist on the song "Perfectly Terrible," and the composer and lyricist of the song "The Motor Car." Also included are two stickers, one reading "P.A. Musical Clubs" and the other "Yale Apollo Glee, Banjo and Mandolin Association." Programs 5.5 x 6 inches and 7 x 5.25 inches; stickers 6 and 8 inches wide. Some light toning and wear to the programs, overall fine; stickers very good."Despite his poor level of scholarship, Cole did very well at Yale from a variety of other standpoints. Socially, for example, Cole had a field day in New Haven. He seemed to have been a member, at one time or another, of practically every club, large or small, devised by Yale men, among them the Whiffenpoofs, the Hogans, the Grill Room Grizzlies, the Pundits, the Mince Pie Club [...] and as a junior he was tapped for the coveted Scroll and Key, undoubtedly the most social of the secret societies. [...] Cole found his own way to support the [football] team—as chairman of the song-selection committee, as cheerleader, and as composer-lyricist—a very clever way for someone of limited athletic aptitude and diminutive size (he was five foot six), and with an abhorrence of physical exertion." (Charles Schwartz, Cole Porter: A Biography, pp. 24-5.) (16148)
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