Pervij shifr

[Nora Favorov]

Greetings!
I'm wondering if we have any experts out there in 19th C women's education
in Russia.  Specifically, I'd like to find out a bit more about the
significance of receiving a "pervij shifr" (первый шифр) upon graduating
from an institute, in this case the Ekaterinskij institut in Moscow in
mid-century.  The text I'm dealing with explains that this award assured its
recipient a place in government service, should she desire one, but does it
actually mean she was first in her class?  I'm also not quite sure how to
translate or envision the shifr itself.  I know it was something that could
be worn.  Some kind of carved monogram--in the form of a letter (the letter
E?)--and made of what?  Was it a medal?  Dahl tells us a shifr was a знак
отличия: резной вензель государыни, какой получают на выпуске институтки
(znak otlichiia: reznoj venzel' godudaryni, kakoj poluhaiut na vypuske
institutki).

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Nora Seligman Favorov
100 Village Lane
Chapel Hill, NC  27514

Tel/Fax:  919-960-6871
Mobile:   407-489-6496

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