Retrospection
Walter Gilbert
Walter Gilbert ’53, who would share the 1980 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for DNA research involving DNA, remembers the debate over the safety of recombinant DNA research playing out “inside the University in several meetings” before spilling out into the public.
Testing ‘God’s Law’: Advent of Recombinant DNA Research Struck Fear into Cambridge
Recombinant DNA research helped lay the groundwork for modern medicine. But, before Harvard could build a laboratory to do it, University scientists had to overcome the staunch fears that the pioneering technique was safe.
Elsa Dorfman, Harvard Square’s Attendant of Instants
Follow the life and legacy of photographer Elsa Dorfman, longtime Cambridge resident and former Mather House adviser. Understanding Dorfman means understanding both the brevity and the universality of the moments she captures.
Ginsberg Dylan Elsa Dorfman
Allen Ginsberg looks down at Bob Dylan’s left hand as Dylan shapes a D chord on his fretboard, casually holding a cigarette in his other hand. This photo hangs in Harvard’s Office of the President.
Elsa Dorfman Dress
Dorfman poses with a bright red dress. Today, each room of her family residence is covered wall-to-wall in a gallery of original prints, handwritten notes, and the art of friends and artists who she and her husband gave lodging to.
Elsa Dorfman and Her Giant Camera
Around 1980, Dorfman acquired one of the six large-scale Polaroid Land 20x24 cameras. The camera produced prints that were two feet tall. Dorfman’s style was soon characterized by these massive, unique portraits.
Mather Students Elsa Dorfman
When she was director of the Mather darkroom, Dorfman took portraits of the students. Scribbled in ink beneath five students clutching toy trucks and stuffed animals are the names of accomplished students and aspiring businesspeople, attorneys, writers, and doctors. Though, in their portrait, they are how Dorfman saw them: youthful, unsure, and a bit angsty.
Tasty Diner Picture
The Tasty Sandwich Shop, a diner restaurant in Cambridge, open from 1916 to 1997 at 6 John F. Kennedy St. Behind the counter is chef Don Valcovic, on the right is Al Nidle, publisher of Street Magazine in the late 1980s. The restaurant’s customers ranged from long-time residents to students from Harvard University to bankers and businessmen, all mixing informally. Originally published on page 247 in "Dirty Old Boston," 2014.
The Aftertaste: A Look Back on Harvard Square’s Beloved Tasty Diner
Harvard alumni who frequented the burger joint carry a sort of oral history of Tasty stories. Almost every person we interviewed sent us the names of more friends, promising fresh fables.
Let’s Go: Gone at 63
“Let’s Go” was a travel guide written and produced by student members of Harvard Student Agencies. Today, it has all but disappeared from travelers’ pockets, from the internet, and from Harvard’s campus.
Cover Let's Go Graphic
“Let’s Go,” was a travel guide written and produced by student members of Harvard Student Agencies. Today, it has all but disappeared from travelers’ pockets, from the internet, and from Harvard’s campus.
wimmins comix
Issue 14 of "Wimmin's Comix," titled "Disastrous Relationships." “It Ain’t Me Babe” newspaper was created by the organization Berkeley Women’s Liberation and led to the development of “Wimmen’s Comix,” which was run collectively by female artists from 1972 to 1992. Both are held in collections by the Harvard Schlesinger Library.
Ain't Me Babe
“It Ain’t Me Babe Comix” was the first entirely women-created comic book. Coupled with the revolutionary spirit of 1960s movements for Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War, second-wave feminism advocated for women’s reproductive rights, job opportunities, and freedom from sexual assault and harassment.
