Photo Album, owned by James Franklin Parsons (Class of 1880), 1880

The first yearbook of student photographs at Bates was published in 1870. Subsequent issues became known simply as the "Photo Book." In 1900, the format expanded to include photographs of the college buildings and landscape, and of student activities and clubs, and began to include textual descriptions of campus life. The name "The Mirror" was first used for the yearbook issue of 1909. Copies of The Mirror can be found in the Archives reading room. This series is broken down into three sub-series: A.Photo albums [for the earlier photograph albums]; B. The Mirror [for the printed yearbooks]; C.Administrative records.