Harvard University marked the 150th anniversary of The Harvard Lampoon with a pop-up exhibit and alumni gathering, according to a May 14 announcement. More than 100 former members attended the event at the Harvard University Archives, which showcased items from the magazine’s long history as part of a multi-day celebration.
The Harvard Lampoon has played a significant role in campus culture for generations, producing parodies and humor that have influenced both students and readers beyond Harvard. The anniversary event offered attendees an opportunity to reflect on this legacy and reconnect with fellow contributors.
Thomas Beale, a longtime treasurer of the group, recalled his first encounter with Lampoon humor: “That’s the art of a good parody. You don’t quite realize you’re getting spoofed until halfway through.” Beale said reading one of their James Bond parodies inspired him to start his own high school humor column before joining the Lampoon at Harvard. During the exhibit, he displayed a parody issue featuring personal touches such as photos of his daughters and family dog.
Archivists organized nearly 100 displayed items into five categories: early history; rivalries; parodies; celebrations; and art or ephemera. Some artifacts were straightforward—like architectural drawings for the Lampoon Castle designed by Edmund M. Wheelwright—while others required more context, such as coverage from a satirical article about John Wayne’s visit to Harvard Square in response to being called “the biggest fraud in history” by Lampoon writers.
Visitors explored parodies spanning three centuries, including an 1892 faux-Greek trilogy titled “The Little Tin Gods-on-Wheels” up through more recent works like “The Wobbit” from 2013. Letters on display included correspondence from Cosmopolitan editor Helen Gurley Brown critiquing cover models for one mock issue: “I’m enclosing the September issue of COSMO so you can see how few of our own cover lines are sexy,” she wrote.
Rival student publications have also targeted The Lampoon over time—a tradition documented by photos and invitations from historic baseball games and track meets between The Crimson, Advocate, Spy Club of 1721, and others. While many associate The Lampoon today with TV comedy writing careers, curators highlighted its artists’ lesser-known contributions through hand-drawn illustrations preserved thanks to donations like those made by Henry Russell Wood’s family after discovering his work stored away for decades.
Mac Whatley reflected on efforts to preserve these materials: “There are things I rescued from the street because I couldn’t bear to throw them away,” he said. Now donating them feels right: “but this is a much better place to look after stuff.”
