THE SPECTRUM 1944 / The COLLEGE YEARBOOK of Georgia State College for Women, Milledgeville, Georgia.

MARY FLANNERY O'CONNOR'S SOPHOMORE COLLEGE YEARBOOK. Flannery O'Connor completed work on her B.A. at Georgia State College for Women in three years, and this college annual documents her middle year.

Hardcover yearbook, leatherette covered boards, embossed title and design on front covers, raised title on spine, 9x12 inches, 146 pages. Illustrated with typical yearbook photographs, including portrait photos of the women in every class.

Flannery O'Connor's name and photograph appears in a number of places, as do 8 of her original art linocuts. She was an active student involved with the Town Girls Club, the International Relations Club, The Corinthian (the creative writing journal), the Colonnade (the student newspaper), and the Spectrum Yearbook.

Here is a rundown of where she is mentioned and the photos in which she appears:

Page 60, portrait photo of Mary Flannery O'Connor / Sophomore. Page 79, Honor Committee group photo, "Mary Flannery O'Connor / Sophomore Representative". Page 90, The Spectrum, a group photo of the Club and Literary Staff, "Mary Flannery O'Connor, of cartoon fame, was the bright spot of our existence. There was always a smile in the Spectrum office on the days when her linoleum cuts came in." Page 92, The Colonnade, Editorial Staff group photo, "Mary Flannery O'Connor Art Editor". Page 95, The Corinthian, Editorial Staff group photo, "Mary Flannery O'Connor Literary Assistant". Page 114, International Relations Club group photo, "Mary Flannery O'Connor / Member". Page 120, Town Girls Club group photo, "Mary Flannery O'Connor / Member". On page 137 she is written about but not photographed "Friday, Feb. 21: Election speeches before student body gave birth to M. F. O'Connor's next week's cartoon." In sum, she is in SEVEN photos where she is named, and there is ONE mention of her with no photo.

Here is where to find her satirical linocut art drawings:

Page 74 has three drawings, captioned "Major Organizations". Page 88 has three drawings, captioned "Publications". Page 96 has one drawing, captioned "Clubs". Page 127 has one drawing, captioned "The Spectrum Presents The News And Views Of Jessie Jones As Recorded In Her Diary".

This copy belonged to a Margaret who was nicknamed "Dublin". The volume bears inscriptions from classmates to her throughout, though nothing I can find from O'Connor.

VERY GOOD condition: the covers have light wear at the spine ends and corner tips, the raised spine lettering and embossed front cover titles and design have faded but remain clear; internally very nice, tight, bright and clear. A previous owner has placed removable tags at the top of the pages where there is a photograph, mention, or drawing by Flannery O'Connor. I have carefully removed and replaced one tag to make sure they could be removed. They DO remove but are stickier than normal post-its, so if you remove them please do so with care.

What a GEM. With lovely and cute photos of Flannery O'Connor as an active college sophomore. She is in more photos than I would have imagined, and the book has her early satirical art as well! Makes me want to read her books again.

A couple related items from the Internet:

From the Georgia College at Milledgeville website: "1942 - Mary Flannery O'Connor enters as a freshman. Active in student publications, she graduates three years later and becomes one of the South's most noted writers."

From Wikipedia: "Flannery O'Connor entered Georgia State College for Women (now Georgia College & State University) in an accelerated three year program and graduated in June 1945 with a social sciences degree. While at Georgia College, she produced a significant amount of cartoon work for the student newspaper. Many critics have claimed that the idiosyncratic style and approach of these early cartoons shaped her later fiction in important ways."