1914 Murphy and Olmsted View of the Catholic University of America

The only known example of the Murphy and Olmstead View of the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C.

An impressive and rare 1914 photo gelatin view of the campus of the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The view presents proposed improvements by the Washington D.C. architects Murphy and Olmsted. The print consists of a general view of the campus surrounded by 15 images of campus buildings. These include Albert Hall, The Marist College, The Marist Seminary, Holy Cross College, Graduate Hall, Engineering Building, Dominican House of Studies, Cardinal Gibbons Memorial Hall, College of the Holy Land and Franciscan Monastery, St. Austin's College, Chemical Laboratory, Apostolic Mission House, St. Paul's College, Caldwell Hall, and McMahon Hall.

The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private university located in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops. Established in 1887 as a graduate and research center following approval by Pope Leo XIII on Easter Sunday, the university began offering undergraduate education in 1904. The university's campus lies within the Brookland neighborhood, known as 'Little Rome', which contains 60 Catholic institutions, including Trinity Washington University and the Dominican House of Studies.

This view was issued by the Albertype Company of Brooklyn, New York. This view is exceedingly rare and, in so far as we can determine, this is the only known example.

Cartographer

Albertype Company (1890 – 1952) was a Brooklyn, New York, based printer of postcards and views. It was founded by Adolph (1845 - 1938) and Herman L. Wittemann on the premise they could leverage a technological innovation in collotype process, the Albertype. Named after its Austrian inventor, Josef Albert (1825 - 1886), the technique is similar to collotype, but substitutes gel plates for lithographic stones, making the process considerably faster and cheaper. Amassing photographic negatives of towns and cities across the United States, the Albertype Company produced over 25,000 collotypes before its closure in 1952.   Further Details...

Condition

Good. Overall toning. Some discoloration primarly restricted to lower margin. Closed and repaired tear, roughy 11 inches, from right maring.