Description: Group portrait of the members of the Kit Kat Club, 1946. The Kit Kat Club of Columbus, Ohio, has its roots in a literary publication titled "The Honey Jar: A Receptacle for Literary Preserves." The magazine began in 1898 in Columbus, but it had a limited circulation. When it ceased publication in 1911, Charles C. Pavey, an attorney and contributor, offered to start a new publication to be called the "Kit-Kat Magazine." The title came from an article in "The Honey Jar" concerning a famous 18th century literary club in London, England, whose namesake was Christopher “Kit” Kat, the owner of an English tavern in the 1700s where members such as writer and critic Samuel Johnson reportedly met. Pavey invited 19 men to assemble and discuss underwriting the publishing of the new magazine on October 5, 1911. The Kit Kat Club was formed as a result of this meeting, and their first regular meeting was held on November 3, 1911. The club's mission is to "promote social intercourse among congenial men who are interested in literature, art, and other matters of broad human concern." They also published the monthly magazine from 1912 to 1920. Membership in the club is limited to 39 men. Nominations for new members are made by a three-man committee when a member dies or resigns, and voted on by members. Many noted Columbus men were members of the Kit Kat Club, including John W. Bricker, Charles Y. Lazarus, Edward Orton Jr., Edward S. Thomas, John M. Vorys, and many men from The Ohio State University, including four of its presidents. An accompanying description of this photograph lists the members pictured as follows: Front row: Adolph E. Waller, James R. Hopkins, Howard Dwight Smith, John F. Cunningham, Howard L. Bevis, Otto Mees, George W. Rightmire and E.J. Crane. Second row: Carl V. Weygandt, Claris Addams, Robert G. Patterson, Hugh Huntington, James E. Pollard, H.E. Cherrington, Boynton Merrill, Robert E. Pfeiffer, Dr. Jonathan Forman, H.C. Shetrone, Harlan H. Hatcher, Dr. George M. Curtis, George Washburne and C.E. MacQuigg. Additional members who were not pictured include Landon C. Bell, James I. Boulger, John W. Bricker, Dr. W.O. Doescher, Dr. Leroy Johnson, Richard B. Bean (who took the photograph), George R. Roudebush, Harrison M. Sayre, Samuel Shellabarger, George K. Smith, Edward S. Thomas, Henry A. Williams, and John M. Vorys. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS_200AV_F01_01
Subjects: Kit Kat Club (Columbus, Ohio); Men--Ohio--Societies and clubs; Literature--Societies, etc.; Columbus (Ohio)--Social life and customs
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)