A Brief History of the Signet

by Nathan C. Shiverick

No one of us could write a complete history of the Signet Society today, for conversation is ephemeral, and conversation has been the main business of the society for one hundred years, whether over chocolate cup, cocktail glass, luncheon or dinner table.  Some conversations, it must be admitted, have been held under the table, but they may be dismissed as beneath our notice.  Nor can the character of the society be impaled on a pin, like a butterfly, for its flavor and personality change from year to year as members come and go.  Yet there are landmarks in the past which, if called to mind, describe the evolution of the society into what it is today.

--The Signet:  A Centennial Catalogue, 1870-1970

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