Exhibits

Current Exhibit

Before They Were Famous: The Student Days of the Class of 1825

Winter/Spring 2025 | Second Floor Gallery, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library | Open during Library hours

Thirty-seven students graduated from Bowdoin College on September 7, 1825, the College’s twentieth commencement. Among them were future congressmen, a US senator, numerous state politicians, the president of the Atlantic and St. Lawrence Railroad, a US marshal, the uncle by marriage to Emily Dickinson, a fiery, famous abolitionist who was jailed for his beliefs, and two of America’s foremost authors: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne. With their class often described as Bowdoin’s most famous, it is easy to forget that at Bowdoin they were just boys learning to navigate the world. This exhibit, in celebration of the class’s 200th anniversary, explores their college days, from academics to pranks. Meet the Class of 1825, before they were famous!


Also On View

  • Labor in Laughter: Expressions of Black Joy in the Bowdoin College Archive  – First Floor, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library
  • Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain: Life and Legacy – Third Floor, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library
  • Artist’s Books on Libraries – Third Floor, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library
  • FORTHCOMING Additions to the Thomas Brackett Reed Collection – Third Floor, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library
  • FORTHCOMING New at SC&A: W.A. Dwiggins: A Life in Books – Third Floor, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library
  • John James Audubon’s Birds of America – Monday-Friday, 11:00PM-5:00PM by appointment, Third Floor, Hawthorne-Longfellow Library

Online Exhibits

A Men’s College with Women? Over 50 Years of Women’s Leadership and Education at Bowdoin College details the history of women at Bowdoin before and after the implementation of coeducation fifty years ago. The exhibition celebrates the accomplishments of Bowdoin women as they fought for their place at a men’s only college. Learn about the women who were here before 1971, the transition to coeducation, and the pioneers who led Bowdoin into a new era. (2021-2022)
Shortly after Maine achieved statehood in 1820, the Medical School of Maine was established at Bowdoin College. For 100 years the School educated physicians to serve across the state and the world. In celebrating the bicentennial of Maine’s first medical education institute, we also look closely at the anniversary of its demise and contemporary issues surrounding access to healthcare. (Spring 2021)
An mini exhibit to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the student newspaper, The Bowdoin Orient. The Orient was established in 1871 and is considered to be the oldest continuously-published college weekly in the U.S. Complete exhibit available online (Spring 2021)
In 1955, Roscoe H. Hupper (Class of 1907) presented Bowdoin College with a unique copy of John James Audubon’s double-elephant folio The Birds of America. Learn more about the book, its history, and public programming here. Complete exhibit available online. (Summer 2020)
In celebration of #BowdoinReunion we’ve dug into the College Archives to curate some memorable moments for Polar Bears celebrating their 2020 reunions. See what’s changed. See what will always remain the same. Complete exhibit available online (Spring 2020)
Tension and Tenacity: Africana Studies at 50
2019 marks five decades of the Africana Studies program, the African American Society, and the John Brown Russwurm Center at Bowdoin College. Culled from the College Archives’ collections, Tension/Tenacity seeks to consider the programs’ strengths and struggles while highlighting the people who have championed their existence. Complete exhibit available online (Fall 2019)
An online exhibition commemorating the centenary of the extinction of the North American passenger pigeon. Complete exhibit available online (Fall 2014)
An online exhibition celebrating the Harold M. Goralnick (Class of 1971) Pop-up Book Collection. Complete exhibit available online (Spring 2011)
An online exhibition that showcases the breadth and richness of Bowdoin College’s rare book collections. Complete exhibit available online (Fall 2006)
A look at the fine bindings within the Susan Dwight Bliss Collection. Complete exhibit available online (1998)

Exhibit Archive

Explore past Library exhibits and associated materials.