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Book and Snake

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox fraternity Book and Snake or The Society of Book and Snake is a secret society for seniors at Yale University.<ref name=":12">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was established in 1863 and is the fourth-oldest secret society at Yale.<ref name=":6">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":12" /> Current NASA administrator Bill Nelson is a noted alumnus.

HistoryEdit

File:Book and Snake 1888 delegation Yale College.jpg
Book and Snake 1888 delegation

Sigma Delta Chi Society was established by students at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College on November 17, 1863, as a three-year society.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":19">Template:Cite book</ref> The society secured rooms on the top floor of a building on College Street and Chapel Street where they held weekly meetings.<ref name=":13">Template:Cite book</ref> When it outgrew that space, the society moved to the top floor of 953 Chapel Street.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":19" />

In 1876, the society incorporated in Connecticut as the Stone Trust Corporation so that it could own property and hold money.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":8">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":18">Template:Cite book</ref> This name honored Lewis Bridge Stone, an early member of the society.<ref name=":18" /> On campus, Sigma Delta Chi changed its name to Book and Snake because its members did not want to be confused with a national fraternity; the group already had the nickname Book and Snake because of its pin.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":15">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":18" /> In addition, the society moved to 36 Elm Street and created the first social dormitory at Yale.<ref name=":13" /> Member John Hays Hammond named the dormitory Cloister.<ref name=":18" />

File:Cloister Hall of the Society of Book and Snake, Yale University, circa 1900.jpg
Cloister Hall, circa 1900

Because its house was called Cloister, the society received the nickname Cloister Club.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":16" /> The Cloister Club grew to include those who lived at the Cloister, alumni of the society, and honorary members.<ref name=":8" /> In 1888, Book and Snake built Cloister Hall, a combined chapter house and dormitory at 1 Hillhouse Avenue, at Grove Street.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":16">Template:Cite news</ref>

Like other landed Yale societies, Book and Snake built a meeting hall or "tomb" in 1901 that is only accessible to members and alumni.<ref name=":13" /> The tomb cost $81,000, including $10,000 for its lot.<ref name=":18" /> The society enlarged its dormitory in 1917.<ref name=":13" /> However, when Yale started its residential college system in 1933, Book and Snake sold Cloister Hall to the university.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":13" /><ref name=":14">Template:Cite news</ref> Book and Snake also converted to a senior society in 1933.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":8" />

In 1987, Book and Snake alumni created the Arthur Greer Memorial Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication or Research at Yale to honor Arthur Greer, Yale class of 1926.<ref name=":20">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Given to one or two junior faculty members annually, the Greer Award comes with funding for future research and is one of Yale's highest honors.<ref name=":20" />

In 1999, the Stone Trust Corporation's assets totaled $2,474,165.<ref name=":4" /> In 2016, Business Insider ranked Book and Snake as the third wealthiest secret society at Yale, with $5,619,120 in assets.<ref name=":9">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to the Yale Daily News, the society "has a party reputation, with a large number of athletes and fraternity and sorority members."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Symbols and traditionsEdit

Book and Snake uses a mix of ancient and esoteric symbols with meanings known only to its members.<ref name=":6" /> Its Tomb is said to be "the perpetual attempt of establishing an official perfect order on earth, a sort of platonic reflection of heavenly secret societies."<ref name=":18" />

In the Sigma Delta Chi era, the group's symbol was a jawless skull that was chained to a cross.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite book</ref> The Book and Snake's original badge was an open book displaying the Greek letters ΣΔΧ surrounded by a coiled serpent.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It was worn on the member's tie.<ref name=":15" /> The modern version of this pin is an open book with an ouroboros on top, and no Greek letters.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":10">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is made of gold and is Template:Convert in size.<ref name=":10" />

Each member of Book and Snake has a pewter or glass tankard that hangs on a hook in the Tomb's dining room, ready for whenever they return.<ref name=":10" /> When a member dies, their tankard is broken or pierced through its bottom.<ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":10" />

BuildingsEdit

File:Yale-book-and-snake.jpg
Book and Snake Tomb, 2005

The Book and Snake Tomb is at the corner of Grove Street and High Street in New Haven, adjacent to the Yale Law School and the Beinecke Plaza. The Tomb was deliberately sited with its back to campus and faces across the street to the Egyptian-revival gates of the Grove Street Cemetery.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":16" /> The Tomb was designed in Greek Ionic style by Louis R. Metcalfe and completed in 1901.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":13" /> It is supposed to be the finest replica of a Greek temple in the United States.<ref name=":11">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":12" />

The windowless Tomb is built of solid white Vermont marble and has a roof of large marble tiles.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6" /><ref name=":11" /> It is Template:Convert long, Template:Convert wide, and Template:Convert feet high, including two stories and a gable.<ref name=":18" /><ref name=":17">Template:Cite journal</ref> Its four Ionic pillars, carved from marble, support a triangle-shaped pediment across its front.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":11" /><ref name=":6" /> Its bronze (originally wooden) front door is modeled after the Erechtheion Temple on the Acropolis in Athens.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":18" />

The Tomb's alcove was built using steel–the first use of steel for a residence in the United States.<ref name=":18" /> Another of Metcalfe's innovations was using pipes to take the smoke from the Tomb's furnace to the chimney of a nearby commons building.<ref name=":18" /> The iron fence that surrounds the property features wrought-iron snakes or caduceus around posts shaped like flaming torches.<ref name=":6" /> In 2021, the society added the sculpture Aspire by Archie Held to its grounds.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Previously, Book and Snake owned a chapter house and dormitory at Sheffield Scientific School known as the Cloister or Cloister Hall.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":16" /> H. Edwards Ficken designed the ornate brownstone Cloister which was completed in 1888.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":14" /> At the time, it was considered "one of the most picturesque buildings on the Yale campus."<ref name=":16" /> The society added a matching rear addition in 1915.<ref name=":14" /> Today, the building is called Warner House and is used for the Yale University graduate school and the Yale College Deans offices.<ref name=":14" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A plaque honoring the society is on the first floor of the building.

MembershipEdit

Each year, Book and Snakes taps a delegation of sixteen members: eight men and eight women.<ref name=":10" /> It was the first secret society on campus to admit women and minorities.<ref name=":10" />

File:Bill Nelson, official NASA photo.jpg
Bill Nelson

Notable membersEdit

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See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

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