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1908 Richard Rummell View of Hamilton College, New York

HamiltonCollege-rummell-1908-2
$475.00
Hamilton College. - Main View
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1908 Richard Rummell View of Hamilton College, New York

HamiltonCollege-rummell-1908-2

One of the earliest views of Hamilton College

Title


Hamilton College.
  1908 (undated)     8 x 15 in (20.32 x 38.1 cm)

Description


This is an iconic c. 1908 view of the Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, by Richard Rummell. The view focused on the north side, or 'Stryker' part of Hamilton College's campus. It centers on the 1827 federal style Hamilton College Chapel. To the left of the chapel the South Residence hall is clearly recognizable. In the distance Carnegie Hall is evident. At the far left, Couper Hall, with its distinctive copper topped turret is unmistakable. Minor Theater is right center.

Hamilton College is a small private liberal arts college based in Clinton New York, in the Mohawk Valley at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. It was founded in 1793 and charted as a college in 1829, when it was named for trustee Alexander Hamilton.

Rummell began issuing views of American colleges around 1905. Rummell's views come in several different forms including color, as here, and black and white. Like most of Rummell's university views, it is copyrighted by Littig and Company.

In more recent times Arader Galleries has acquired many of the original printing plates for Rummell's college views and currently issues re-strikes, but the original early 20th century printings, as here have become extremely rare.

Cartographer


Richard W. Rummell (1848 – June 4, 1924) was an American artist active in Brooklyn during the late 19th and early 20th century. Rummell was born in Canada, the son of German immigrant Frank X. Rummell and his wife Eliza Rummell. He immigrated to the United States as a youth settling with his parents in Buffalo. He relocated to Brooklyn when he was in his mid-30s, setting up an illustration office at 258 Broadway in Manhattan. Rummell is best known for his series of views of American colleges completed around the turn of the century. Since Rummell's views universally appear to be drawn from an altitude of about 300 feet, it has been speculated by many art historians that he worked from a balloon. Rummell was also a bit of a futurist and among his more interesting works are a series of speculative images of the New York of tomorrow, with vast airships, trains running over the tops of skyscrapers, and elegant sky bridges. In the 1950s, the original printer's plates for many of Rummell's university views were rediscovered in a Brooklyn warehouse. Rummell's Brooklyn home was located at 45 Bay 28th Street and later 73 Hanson Place. In addition to his work as a visual artist, he was an accomplished actor and an avid yachtsman. He founding member of the Bensonhurst Yacht Club, where his yacht, the Careless was usually docked. He was also a member of the Royal Arcanum fraternal order. Rummell was survived by his wife, Emmeline Rummell, daughter, Chrissie Atkinson, and two sons, John Tribel Rummell, and Richard Rummell Jr., who became a famous Florida architect. More by this mapmaker...

Condition


Fine; an unmarred example with a strong platemark and generous margins.