Today the UNC community celebrates the 90th birthday of its mascot Rameses. The UNC website has a feature story on the 1924 origin of Rameses, with a link to a video story, too.
Here at A View to Hugh, we can contribute to the anniversary by sharing photographs of Rameses made by Hugh Morton that are included in the online Morton collection. Currently there are eleven images online, ranging from Morton’s earliest in 1941 through 1989. Since it’s a special anniversary, I dug a little deeper and found the portrait above, likely made in 1970, which is not in the online collection. The year comes from a roll of film containing very similar 120 roll film negatives dated 1970, but not with the actual day Morton made them. Also missing is the original color negative. The scan above comes from an interpositive, trimmed from a sheet of 4″ x 5″ color film. The interpositive (in this case, a negative exposed onto negative film, which creates a positive), is larger that the original 2 1/4″-square negative, suggesting this was to be made into a big enlargement. Does any one know what that might have been?
Rameses V roamed the playing field during the autumns of 1939 through 1942 during Morton’s student years—the final year cut short by his enlistment in the United States Army during Wold War II. Today, Rameses XX munches on Kenan Stadium grass. What incarnation of Rameses lived in 1970?
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Processing the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films
Best wishes to Rameses on birthday number 90.
Stephen…here is one more piece of information that might indicate the Rameses image is from 1970. It is the full front cover picture on the UNC vs. Virginia football game program from October 31, 1970, with Morton credit on page 3 inside.