Rowing Images From Yale

In a way to serve the sport of rowing (and this rowing history blog, I might add), the good fellow Tim Koch, member of Auriol Kensington RC in London and HTBS special correspondent, is in constant search for rowing images. His latest find is the Yale University Archive, where of course there are plenty of interesting images from ‘the olden days’. Tim writes, “I have recently discovered the Yale University archive picture website. "Naturally, I put ‘crew’ in the search and came up with over one hundred results. Some of my favourites are below. The copyright is mostly ‘public domain’.

Picture 1

1859 crew. The early pictures show much rowing in ‘Sixes’

Picture 2

Adee Boathouse 1910

Picture 3

Annual Crew Coaches Conference, 1934

Picture 4

Freshmen, 1914

Picture 5

Crew of 1879

Picture 6

Harvard c.1883. Know your enemy?

Picture 7

Watercolour of Harvard - Yale Race, 1890

Picture 8

Members of the Six Men's Crew (late nineteenth century?

Picture 9

Crew of 1881

Picture 10

Crew of 1880 with ‘leg-of-mutton oars’. Are these paddles? I suspect not as the picture shows eight athletes and a cox which suggests rowing not canoeing. Were they cut down oars for the photographic studio? (This is the image shown on top!)

Picture 11

Crew of 1884 without jerseys

Picture 12

Crew of 1882 on the dock

Picture 13

Yale Six, 1861

Picture 14

1889 Crew in blazers

Picture 15

Yale’s four-oared crew with the 1876 Centennial Regatta trophy won in Philadelphia

I’m sure everyone will have their favourites.”

Tim, thank you for sharing your discovery with the HTBS readers! I am certain we will find our own ‘favourites’ in this gold mine of rowing images.