Royal Purple

Class books, the predecessors of the yearbook, first appeared at Kansas State Agricultural College in 1891. The class books were given various names such as The Sledge, Sunrise, The Bell Clapper and The Banner. It wasn”t until 1909 that “Royal Purple” appeared on the cover of the college annual.

The value of yearbooks was best summed up by George T. Hart, 1936 Royal Purple editor: “The yearbook is like a bottle of rare wine, the older it becomes, the more value it has, until it becomes cherished beyond monetary valuation.”

These Kansas State University (also known as Kansas State Agricultural College and Kansas State College of Agriculture and Applied Science) yearbooks were published from 1891 to the present under the following titles: College Symposium of the Kansas State Agricultural College for the year 1891; Biography and History of the Class of '95, Kansas State Agricultural College for the year 1895; K.S.A.C. '96 for the year 1896; Class Book of the Class of '98, Kansas State Agricultural College for the year 1898; The Sledge for the year 1900; Sunrise for the year 1904; The Bell Clapper 1905 for the year 1905; The Banner for 1906 for the year 1906; College Annual of 1907 for the year 1907; Class of 1908 for the year 1908; and, Royal Purple for the years 1909-present. There were no yearbooks published before 1891, and none were published for the years 1892-1894, 1897, 1899, 1901-1903.

--Retrieved from https://www.royalpurpleyearbook.com/history/