public domain, see below
Crop of page 279 of the 1939 Pitt student yearbook, the Owl. This work was originally published prior to 1978 without a copyright notice placing it in the public domain.

In addition, works copyrighted before 1964 had to have the copyright renewed sometime in the 28th year. If the copyright was not renewed the work is in the public domain. It is best to search 6 months before and after the required year. Some periodicals are published the month before the cover date and some registrations may be delayed for a few months.

If copyrighted, this 1939 issue of The Owl student yearbook would have to be renewed in 1966. Online page scans of the Catalog of Copyright Entries, published by the US Copyright Office can be found here. [1]

The search of the Renewals for Books and Periodicals for 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1968 show no renewal entries for The Owl by either the Owl itself, the University of Pittsburgh, editor Harold H. Viehman, or business manager Albert M. Kairys.