Gerrit Carl Zwart Papers, 1917-1935 (2 Boxes)
©2010 Norwich University Archives
About Gerrit Carl Zwart
Originally from Glenbrook, CT, Gerrit Zwart graduated with the Norwich University class of 1921. While at Norwich, he was a member of Theta Chi, the mandolin club and the riding and rifle teams. He also served as assistant manager of the baseball and football teams. Zwart was the photographer for the 1921 War Whoop. He was a veteran of World War I, serving in the cavalry as a second lieutenant. Gerrit Zwart retired in 1970 from his job as a science teacher at Suffern High School in New York. He also wrote the radio and television shows, “Atoms for Peace,” as well as numerous articles for publication in many magazines. Gerrit Zwart received the distinguished alumnus award from Norwich in 1970 and received an honorary doctor of science from his alma mater in 1971. He served on the board of fellows for six years. The control file included with the collection contains additional biographical information on Gerrit Zwart.
About the Collection
The collection consists of photographs, negatives and glass plate negatives produced by Zwart in his capacity as photographer for the 1921 War Whoop; however, there are also a few panoramic photographs dating from 1919-1920 depicting the corps of cadets and the ROTC cavalry camp at Fort Ethan Allen, and some as late as 1935. All of the images pertain to Norwich University, its campus, personnel and student body. Many of the negatives bear several variant numbering systems; Gerrit Zwart’s original numbering appears in pencil in the upper left-hand corner on the reverse of the negative sleeve. The original numbers correspond to numbers on the backs of the prints in the collection. Most of the photographs are otherwise unidentified and not all negatives have corresponding prints. Also included in the collection is Zwart’s Norwich University scrapbook or “memory book” documenting his time as a Norwich student. Topics of interest in the scrapbook include portraits, Colonel Frank Tompkins, Theta Chi, junior week, polo and the Plattsburgh (NY) training camp. The “Dates and Doings” section of the memory book contains brief daily entries, some of which were recorded during the Spanish influenza epidemic in 1918.
More About the Collection…
About the Biographical Files Collection
