Author: Anonymous
Title: Bourdonis Et Mintonis. Pompa Funerea Et Tristis Crematio Apud Universitatem Californiae, Celebratum a Classe Nonaginta Sex Vicensimus Octavus Aprilis Mdcccxciii
Description: S. l. (Berkeley), S. n. 1893. First Edition. Leaflet; single sheet, folded, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2; pp. [4]; printed and ruled in black; old, intersecting fold lines; a bit of age-toning and wear to edges; illustrated with a picture of a devil over a coffin and a drawing of a coffin, skull, and bones; in about very good condition. In Dog Latin and English. A long-gone ceremony of UC Berkeley students, the "Burial of Bourdon and Minto" was based on a similar tradition at Yale University. It was held annually from 1878 until 1903 and revolved around freshmen burning their textbook copies of Louis Pierre Marie Bourdon's "Elements of Algebra" and William Minto's "Manual of English Prose Composition." It also featured the ceremonial burrial of the ashes. Over the years, the process became more elaborate and included a mourners' procession and a bonfire. When the festivities began spilling outside the campus, onto residential streets, and more and more often students became injured, the university administration cancelled the ceremony. The current leaflet was the invitation to the event, meant to be passed around among the students. Written mostly in Dog Latin, it also included a poem in English, part of which read: "Oh, dog-eared and mangled Minto, / Oh, Bourdon, our fated foe, / You are lost and gone forever, / Down to Hell's deep pit below." . Very good .

Keywords: Uc Berkeley, Ceremonies


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