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1908 Rummel Bird's-Eye View of the University of Chicago, Illinois
UniversityofChicago-rummell-1908$600.00
Title
University of Chicago.
1908 (dated) 17 x 30 in (43.18 x 76.2 cm)
1908 (dated) 17 x 30 in (43.18 x 76.2 cm)
Description
This is a scarce 1906 Richard Rummell view of the University of Chicago, in a brilliant full-color example.
A Closer Look
The view looks roughly east-northeast on the university, with Lake Michigan dominating the background. The foreground centers on the intersection of South Ellis Avenue and East 59th Street. Along South Ellis Avenue, Cobb Lecture Hall, Gates Hall, and Goodspeed Hall are recognizable. The Classics Building, which today occupies the corner of S. Ellis and E. 58th, was not constructed until 1915. Along East 58th, the gothic towers of Harper Memorial Library stand tall. Similarly, Mitchell tower is evident in the background at left. At center, the Main Quad features tennis courts with several games in progress.University of Chicago
The University of Chicago was established in 1890 by the American Baptist Education Society with a substantial donation from oil magnate John D. Rockefeller. Renowned for its rigorous academic programs and significant contributions to various fields, the university has been the site of groundbreaking achievements, including, in 1942, the development of the first self-sustaining nuclear reaction under physicist Enrico Fermi. Its distinguished faculty and alumni include numerous Nobel laureates, leaders in industry and government, and influential thinkers in economics, science, and the humanities. The University of Chicago is celebrated for its unique core curriculum, a pioneering approach to interdisciplinary education, and its commitment to free and open inquiry, embodying its motto, 'Crescat scientia; vita excolatur' or 'Let knowledge grow from more to more; and so be human life enriched.'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, copperplates were engraved, and a limited number of engravings were issued. Most of Rummell's university views are strikingly similar in style, revealing the entire campus in panoramic splendor. The views are uniformly issued from an altitude of about 300 feet, suggesting the Rummell most likely worked from a balloon.Publication History and Census
This view was drawn by Richard Rummell sometime before 1908. It was commissioned and printed by Littig Company of New York. This view is one of the scarcer Rummells.CartographerS
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...
W. T. Littig (fl. c. 1900 - 1930) was New York printer and publisher active in the early 20th century. Littig is most commonly associated with Richard Rummell, from whom he commissioned numerous university and college views. He is otherwise extremely elusive and little is known about his person or career. Learn More...
Condition
Excellent.