Theta Nu Epsilon Society - Emblems used by Theta Nu Epsilon

The Theta Nu Epsilon Society.

Emblems used by Theta Nu Epsilon.

	This was the original emblem of the society, and was used briefly in 1870 - 72. It is the engraving used by Skull & Bones of Yale. It was used by the Alpha at Wesleyan with the permission of Yale.
	This is the Skull & Keys of Theta Nu Epsilon. It is a line for line re-creation of the Skull & Bones cranium, with the letters and keys added. The chapter letter is printed below the keys, in this case, “A” for the Alpha Chapter at Wesleyan. No other version is appropriate.
	The various national organizations organized after 1885 used a variety of versions of the emblem, including this one, the most common. This was used until the 1920’s. These do not differ materially from the original, but simply different engravings of the same emblem.
	This version was commonly used by many older chapters that were driven out of the National in the Schism of 1912.
	A number of chapters had emblems where the skulls showed jewelled eyes. This reflected the developments in pin manufacture, where jewellers began to produce ever more elaborate pins. This particular example is from the University of California (Berkeley) chapter.
	This is the “Lon Chaney” Skull, which was used by the main national from 1920 to 1925, and also later by splinter groups past 1925. This skull has jewelled eyes, and was a redesign taking pin manufacture into account. Many local pins had already been produced with various forms of jewelled eyes. The first ‘jewels’ were either pearl or opal. Later pins were produced with two green or two red eyes, and eventually the most were produced with one red and one green eye. The significance of the eye color was arbitrary and pointless. This very un-skull like skull is interesting as an Art-Deco design.
	Lon Chaney himself, in the Phantom of the Opera, Universal, 1925.
	In 1913, the University of Rochester chapter decided to operate as Theta Pi Sigma, and continued to do so up to World War II, and for some years beyond. The Chapter continued to enjoy representation at the Theta Nu Epsilon conventions, and their emblem was a creative variation on the old Skull & Keys.
	This was the emblem used by the Powell National that operated strictly as a four-year society. The Skull & Keys are reduced to a crest on an shield. This would have been used from 1925 to 1948.
	This is the emblem used by the nationals organized in the 1930’s in the South and West and their progeny. It is the same emblem generally, with wings and a dagger added. This is often called the “Harley-Davidson” Skull. This has been used since the latter 1930’s to today by some independant and associated chapters. Especially so in the South.
	This is the emblem used by a national organized by John Louderbeck of Redlands, California. It is clearly derivative of the Southern emblem above. It is likely derived from an article that appeared in Esquire in 1992; that article contained a photograph of the emblem used by the independent chapter at the University of Alabama.
	The original emblem also occasionally makes its appearance as a member’s tatoo.