In our current exhibition, Windows into the Past, we feature the Columbia College class photo albums from the 1850s to the 1890s. These volumes include photographs of the College president, faculty, staff and students as well as some campus views. But every so often, you will find a baby picture. Why are there babies in the class albums? This is the tale of a long-lost Columbia tradition. Columbians used to celebrate the birth of the first child born to a member of the class, the Class Baby, by presenting the new father with a silver cup known as the Baby Cup. The dad was then known as the “Baby Cup Man.” 

The earliest reference to this tradition is from the Class of 1857. In the Class Register (Alumni Class Records, Box 40), there is a baby photo of Nina Haven, daughter of George G. Haven, who was born in 1860 and received a silver cup “in accordance to the minutes” of the Class. In fact, in 1883, Nina gave birth to Griswold Haven Peabody, who was the first grandchild of the class. Griswold did not receive a silver cup, but his baby photo is also included in the Class Register. 

In the minutes, the Classes customarily set aside the funds to purchase the silver cup for the Class Baby ($75 from Tiffany’s). Some classes made further requirements. The Classes of 1867, 1871 and 1874 specify that the Baby Cup is to be presented to the first “male child,” who must also be legitimate (“born in wedlock to a member of the Class” and “born in matrimony to any member of the class”).

Some babies were born to alumni parents. For example, the Class of 1879 presented the cup to William Ernest Daw in 1881. The Class of 1881 marked the birth of James C. Egbert’s son, born in 1885 with a cup awarded in 1886. Other babies arrived while the father was still a student at Columbia and these are the babies included in the class albums. In the School of Mines Class of 1881 album, you will find a photo of Nelson Palmer Vulte, son of Hermann Theodore Vulte. A handwritten note on the page helpfully points out that Nelson followed his father’s footsteps: he became a member of the Engineering Class of 1902. 

The most complete account of the Baby Cup tradition comes from the Columbia College Class of 1882. In January 1880, the sophomore class met in Prof. Van Amringe’s classroom for the presentation of the Baby Cup to John Spencer on the birth of his son, MacDonald Spencer. 

The class members marked the occasion with speeches, cheers and even a poem. A full transcript of the Baby Cup ceremony was published in the student newspaper Acta Columbiana (Vol. XII, No. 8, February 20, 1880, 127-128). Clearly, the young father was moved by the event:

“My dear friends of ’82 and fellow students (applause) … first let me thank my own class of ’82 for this beautiful memento, and also for the great interest they have shown toward my son and heir … When I first heard this ceremony mentioned in jest, I took it as a jest; but now that it has turned from jest to earnest, I can only assure you of the great pleasure it gives me to receive this token of your friendship.”

MacDonald Spencer’s Baby Cup, we are happy to say, was donated to the University Archives and is currently on display in the exhibition. Windows into the Past: Columbia College Class Albums, 1856-1890 is on view in the Chang Octagon at the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, open Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, until the end of August.