John E. van der Linden received his B.S. (1940) from Iowa State College (University) in economics. He was Junior Class President and a member of Sigma Nu, Cardinal Key, Sigma Delta Chi (journalism honorary society), Concert Band, Iowa State Debaters, and Iowa State Chemical Society. Van der Linden was also active in student publications and was a member of the Student Publication Board and the Sketch Publication Board. He was on the staff of the Iowa State Daily Student, Iowa Agriculturalist, Sketch, and Green Gander, serving as editor of the latter two publications.

Van der Linden entered into the publishing business becoming president of Anchor Publishing Company of Northwood, Iowa. It was with this business that he published the cachets used for the Iowa State College (University) centennial. He later joined Northwest Publishers, Inc., of Spirit Lake, Iowa. He continues to be active in student publications at Iowa State, helping to write and publish the Sigma Nu (Gamma Sigma Chapter) newsletter.

This collection (ca. 1939-2009, n.d.) contains a binder of materials related to the printing of two specially printed envelopes, or cachets, in conjunction with the centennial of the founding of Iowa State University. The first cachet was printed bearing the centennial logo and marked with the dates surrounding events for Founder's Day, March 28, 1958. The second set, altered slightly, was published for the Centennial Commencement held on June 14, 1958. Special first day covers were also available for people interested in stamp collecting. The cachets were laid out by John E. van der Linden and printed by Anchor Publishing Company of Northwood, Iowa. Materials in the scrapbook include: copies of the cachets; stamped and canceled covers; correspondence and sketches related to the design of the envelopes; and published materials related to the centennial anniversary of Iowa State. The material was removed from the original binder and the binder (bearing the centennial logo) placed in the artifact collection.

The collection also contains images of campus taken by van der Linden during his time at Iowa State. The activities documented by van der Linden in these photographs include: marching band performances, VEISHEA, and Cardinal Key.