Sorry I didn't respond earlier, mcchuggernaut. This is, for sure, a cool record. I'm not sure if it's unique or one-of-a-kind, but who knows how many copies survive nowadays. It is not just a private vanity pressing, but was released as part of Columbia's regular pop music series (A-prefix). I assume that means that at least 2,000 copies were pressed, which would be equivalent to the smaller press runs for Columbia's foreign language releases in the E-series. What is strange, though, is that it was not advertised with the nearby catalog numbers in The Talking Machine World from July 15, 1923, page 156. It could be that Columbia did indeed not expect these particular songs to have more than regional appeal.
By 1923, the "Washington And Lee Swing" was just 13 years old and was only beginning to become more widely popular.
In 1925, it was released by Meyer Davis' Le Paradis Band on Victor 19526.
In 1927, Ted White's Collegians issued a version on Oriole 1046.
In 1928, Jan Garber had a version on Columbia 1452-D, coupled with "V.M.I. Spirit (To Alma Mater)."
In 1929, the Memphis Stompers released a version on Victor 21709.
In 1931, Rudy Vallée and his Conecticut Yankees had a version on Victor 22574.
In 1931, the Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers issued a version on Perfect 12782 (also on Romeo 5116 and Conqueror 7942).
In July 1931, Henny Hendrickson's Louisville Serenaders also issued a version on RCA Victor's short-lived Timely Tunes label (C-1586).
Sorry, I'm bad at taking photos, and add to that I'm not well. It's very taxing for me to do that. But since this one is near and dear to me, I went out of my way to take a couple. As you can see, it says "The Columbians" on one side, and "The Columbians Dance Orchestra De Luxe" on the other. Feel free to make any appropriate edits. Hope it helps!
Mike Gann:
I meant more "one-of-a-kind". I could have worded that better. This MAY have been specially commissioned by West Virginia University back in the 20's. It is possible it is the only one in existence. I was unable to find even a whiff of another anywhere, no matter how hard I searched.
Let's just leave it as "The Columbians" until we see an actual picture. That way, it will be displayed together with "The Columbians Dance Orchestra De Luxe" releases.