A search for “Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute” or just “RPI” on the popular online auction site eBay turned up more than a dozen offerings, including the mugs, postcard, and photo shown with Sam Wait’s record set.

For Sam Wait ’53, one of his favorite Christmas presents this year was actually more than 50 years old. He received a slightly worn copy of The Songs of Rensselaer, a four-album (78 RPM, vinyl!) set of songs recorded by the Rensselaer Glee Club in 1948. The gift came from a former neighbor now living in Anchorage, Alaska.

Where did the friend find such a musical gem? On eBay, of course!

A search for “Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute” or just “RPI” on the popular online auction site turned up more than a dozen offerings recently, ranging from old postcards and photos depicting scenes of campus, to yearbooks, sports programs, and even a set of beer mugs emblazoned with a red letter “R” on each.

eBay was founded in 1995 and today boasts some 135 million members worldwide. On any given day, more than 29 million items are for sale on eBay, and last year 40 million users bought about $24 billion worth of goods — up 60 percent since 2002. According to the market intelligence firm IDC, 24 percent of all e-commerce in the U.S. in 2004 took place on eBay.com, up from 16 percent in 2000.

“De Toqueville wrote years ago that Americans are unique insofar as they are much more likely than people in other countries to join associations, clubs, leagues, special interest groups, etc. — which are typically viewed as threats in totalitarian countries,” says Jeff Durgee, associate professor of management at Rensselaer. “eBay is more evidence of this tendency. There are sellers and searchers, who go through three stages: make a connection, feel they trust each other, then become a special interest community. The Web is wonderful in this regard.”

The Songs of Rensselaer set features the alma mater and other musical gems, including “When the Evening Shades are Falling,” “From the Glorious Heights,” the infamous “Ah! Me (Poor Freshie),” “Hail, Dear Old Rensselaer,” “Loyal to Rensselaer,” and even “Three Minutes with the Four Horsemen,” (“RPI’s ever popular Four Horsemen Quartet harmonizing ‘Billboard’ and ‘Dinah’”).

For Wait, the unique gift brought back fond memories. “I contacted a couple of my classmates who were in the Glee Club and who remembered the album, but we couldn’t place the precise date of it. It is a voice out of the past.”

Originally published in Rensselaer Magazine, Spring 2005
Photo by Kris Qua

Published April 1, 2005