Grauer’s Blue Jay: A Hopkins Tradition, an exhibit of Blue Jay memorabilia from journalist, author, and editorial cartoonist Neil A. Grauer, opens at the MSE Library on January 28 and runs through May 25, 2009.
Since the 1920s, the mascot of The Johns Hopkins University has been the feisty Blue Jay—sporting black-and-blue plumage to match Hopkins’ athletic colors.
For more than 40 years, the most popular portrayal of that mascot has been the cartoon Blue Jay created in 1966 by Grauer (A&S ’69), during his student years as a cartoonist for The Johns Hopkins News-Letter, the university’s student newspaper.
The exhibit is drawn from the Grauer Blue Jay Collection, a 1996 gift from Grauer to the Sheridan Libraries of more than 50 items. On display are his 1966 original sketch of the Blue Jay, drawn on the back of a 3×5 index card, numerous other original drawings, and lacrosse caps, T-shirts, posters, cups, an umbrella, and a travel bag, all printed with the Blue Jay logo.
Several items from Grauer’s personal collection are also exhibited, including a pair of Nike limited edition sneakers, created for members of the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse championship team.
Grauer, now a senior writer in The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Marketing Editorial Services department, has drawn the Blue Jay for numerous JHU athletic teams, the Alumni Association, and the Pep Band, and still draws the Blue Jay on request.
The exhibit is located on M-Level of the Eisenhower Library and may be viewed whenever the library is open.