1915 Richard Rummell View of Princeton University, New Jersey

This is a scarce c. 1915 Richard Rummell view of Princeton University in a striking full color example. Rummell did several views of Princeton, this being one of his latter and scarcer works, drawn to accommodate new construction, including the Graduate College (1913), the collegiate gothic Cleveland Tower (1913), and the neoclassical Palmer Stadium (1914 - 1997), evident in the background at left.

A Closer Look

Overlooking campus from a point high above today's Rockefeller College and Nassau Street, the view draws attention to the newly constructed Graduate College and Cleveland Tower in the lower left. The semi-circular Alexander Hall and Maclean House appear immediately at center. On the right, we recognize Blair and Buyers Halls and the Blair Arch. The old Halstead Observatory appears in front of Blair Hall, which is where Joline Hall stands today. Witherspoon Hall appears immediately behind the Blair Arch. Edwards Hall is partially blocked by Witherspoon Hall and Edwards does the same thing to Dod Hall. Both Little Hall and the Dillon Gym appear to the right of Edwards and Dod, and Princeton's railroad station adorns the right border with several horse-drawn carriages waiting. Returning to Alexander Hall at the center, Stanhope Hall is blocked by trees and Nassau Hall appears with its iconic belfry. East Payne Hall and Chancellor Green, then Princeton's library, are to the left of Nassau Hall. Dodge Hall appears to the right of East Payne Hall and McCosh Hall is illustrated to the left and behind both Dodge Hall and East Payne Hall. 1879 Hall is recognizable in the background on the left.

Rummell University Views

Rummell was an American landscape artist known for his drawings of American universities. At the turn of the century, Littig and Company commissioned Rummell to prepare watercolors of some of the nation's most prestigious colleges. From these watercolors, copper-plates were engraved, and a limited number of engravings were issued. Most of Rummell's university views are strikingly similar in style, reveling the entire campus in panoramic splendor. The views are uniformly issued from an altitude of about 300 feet, suggesting the Rummell most likely worked form a balloon. Views were typically offered as 'De Luxe' limited edition on Japanese vellum, signed by Rummell (10 USD), a general edition on India paper with the college name printed below (5 USD), and a miniature photogravure edition, framed at 8.5. x 5 inches (1 USD).

Publication History and Census

This is the second of Rummell's views of Princeton, drawn no earlier that 1914 - given the inclusion of Palmer Stadium. It was commissioned and printed by Littig Company of New York. Of Rummell's Princeton views, this is the rarest and this is the first time we have seen it on the market. The only other example of the present view we have identified is in the Princetoniana Collection of Princeton itself.