From Buchtel College's 1918 yearbook.

Cheese divination, jester scepters, and cheating at a game of Go Fish: it's Prof. Oddfellow's Penetralia.

Unusual these days to see a religious studies professor wielding his marotte, just as we now rarely see photos of university presidents smoking pipes and laughing heartily (here are the best of those we've encountered).  From Earlham's 1977 yearbook.

Though the clown of hearts likes it, the jester seems unsure that the spelling of "jokes" is funny.  "Joshes, joaks, & jyngles."  From Kansas State's 1907 yearbook.

Duelling marottes are too, too rarely depicted.  From Rose Polytechnic's 1922 yearbook.

He's using his marotte as a sort of dowsing rod to find beer.  From Salem's 1929 yearbook.

"I possess all knowledge!"  From Amazing Stories, 1948.

From Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs by Constance D'Archy Mackay, 1915.

From Montclair's 1920 yearbook.

From the University of Omaha's 1923 yearbook.

Turning a marotte upside down to use as a walking stick -- not only is it bad luck, but there's nothing funny about it.  From The Wave, 1894.

"A bit of nonsense now and then."  From St. Joseph's 1922 yearbook.

From William and Mary's 1907 yearbook.

Winter.  From Nebelspalter, 1893.

From Rockford's 1914 yearbook.

As a general rule, never hold your marotte upside down in front of a giant skull with a sword piercing one eye.  An ounce of prevention and so on.  From Tulane's 1896 yearbook.

It's little known that every jester's marotte comes with a sword, likely because the sets invariably get separated over time.  From Tulane's 1905 yearbook.

Trains often run late for funny reasons.  From Nebelspalter, 1910.

Rare to see a marotte on the ground.  As in heraldry, if the marotte is lying down but awake, it is called "couchant."  If it is sleeping or otherwise "out of it" (as depicted here), it is "dormant."  From Mansfield's 1921 yearbook.