Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/kh04dp690
Nassau Hall Iconography, 1760-1950: Finding Aid
AC177
Nassau Hall.
65 Olden Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA
Phone: 609-258-6345
Fax: 609-258-3385
mudd@princeton.edu
http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd
Published in 1998
©2006 Princeton University Library
Summary Information
- Collector:
- Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
- Title and dates:
- Nassau Hall Iconography, 1760-1950
- Abstract:
- The collection contains representations of Nassau Hall and other historic buildings of Princeton University. Most of them are reproductions, some photographic.
- Size:
- 0.29 linear feet (one half-size archival box, one 16X20 photo box)
- Call number:
- AC177
- Location:
- Princeton University Library. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
Princeton University Archives.
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA - Language(s) of material:
- English.
- Storage note:
- This collection is stored onsite at the Mudd Manuscript Library.
History of Nassau Hall
Built in 1756, Nassau Hall originally housed the entire College of New Jersey, as Princeton University was then named. Designed by Robert Smith and William Shippen, the building was named for King William III, Prince of Orange, of the House of Nassau. Today, Nassau Hall houses the president's and other administrative offices. A fire in 1802 left only the walls standing. Benjamin Henry Latrobe was engaged to rebuild it along its original lines. After an 1855 fire, John Notman, who was also the architect for Prospect House and Walter Lowrie House, made a number of exterior changes to the building, including the staircases at the ends of the building and the arched front doorway. The sturdy stone structure has survived bombardment during the American Revolution (a cannonball scar is visible on the exterior south wall of the west wing), occupation by troops of both sides during the war, and two fires. George Washington drove the British from Nassau Hall in 1777, and during the later half of 1783, it served as the Capitol of the United States. On August 26th of that year, Washington returned to Nassau Hall to receive the thanks of the Continental Congress for his conduct of the war, and on October 31st news arrived there that the Treaty of Paris had been signed, formally ending the American Revolution. The federal government has recognized its momentous early history, being given both national landmark status and acknowledged with a commemorative postage stamp that was issued to celebrate its 1956 bicentennial.
Description
The first is a rendering of Nassau Hall by Dawkins, from New American Magazine, published in 1760, four years after the building was completed. This building was later seriously damaged during the American Revolution. Paintings by Peale, Polk and Trumbull depicting George Washington and the Battle of Princeton have Nassau Hall in the backdrop, thus reminding the viewer of Princeton's contribution to the Revolutionary cause and its subsequent sufferings.
Nassau Hall was severely damaged by fire several times in the course of the nineteenth century. Latrobe's sketch and floor plan were intended for reconstruction of the building after one such disaster of 1802. This remodeled building lasted and remained a favorite subject of painters' and engravers' until another fire in 1855 required yet another reconstruction. Drawings and engravings from the nineteenth century show the differences of these two designs.
The collection includes paintings and drawings of a few other buildings at Princeton. Stanhope Hall and Philosophical Hall were both built in 1803. While the former has housed the college library, class rooms and various administrative offices over time, the latter, where mathematics and natural philosophy classes were conducted, was razed in 1873 to make room for Chancellor Green Library. East College, an exact duplicate of West College, served exclusively as a dormitory for over ninety years before it was demolished in 1896. The plans of Nassau Hall and all these buildings reflect the nineteenth-century preference for a symmetrical quadrangle.
The folder labeled “Twentieth Century Renderings” contains several original items such as a pen drawing, a water color painting and a few prints, all of Nassau Hall. Also included are a blueprint of the first floor, Nassau Hall, (1936) and its reproductions.
Except for the folder labeled “Twentieth Century Renderings,” most of the items in this collection are listed within chapter seven of Nassau Hall: 1756-1956. This volume was commissioned by the Board of Trustees of Princeton University to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Nassau Hall. The information on the iconography included in Nassau Hall is based on research done by Varnum Lansing Collins. The commentary on each image listed in the book has been included with the respective image.
Arrangement
Arranged chronologically.
Access and Use
Access
Collection is open for research use.
Restrictions on Use and Copyright Information
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the University Archivist. Under the Copyright Law of 1976, copyright to much of this material will expire on January 1, 2003. Researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright prior to that time.
Related Materials
Related Archival Material
Historical Subject Files - Grounds and Buildings (AC#109)
Nassau Hall Iconography (Box 7, Folder 10)
Savage, Henry Lyttleton, ed. “Early Iconography of Nassau Hall and the President's House.” Chap. 7 in Nassau Hall: 1756-1956. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University, 1956.
Processing and Other Information
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Sue J. Kim in May 1997, Rachel Ban in June 2001. Additional material incorporated and the finding aid updated by Sue J. Kim, Rachel Ban in May 1997, June 2001.
Descriptive Rules Used
Finding aid content adheres to that prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
Encoding
Machine-readable finding aid encoded in EAD 2002 by Techbooks and Cristela García-Spitz on December 29, 2006.
Finding aid written in English.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); Nassau Hall Iconography, Box and Folder Number; University Archives, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
Subject Headings
These materials have been indexed in the Princeton University Library online catalog using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
- Nassau Hall (Princeton, N.J.)
- Princeton University -- Architecture.
- Princeton University -- Buildings -- History.
- Princeton University -- Buildings -- Photographs.
- Buildings -- New Jersey -- Princeton.
- College buildings -- New Jersey -- Princeton.
- Princeton (N.J.) -- Buildings, structures, etc. -- History.
- Photographs.
- Drawings.
Browse other finding aids related to the following terms:
Contents List
New American Magazine, Reproductions, March 1760
Box 1, Folder 1 Doolittle after Dawkins, Reproductions, 1776?
Box 1, Folder 2 Medals, Reproductions, 1784, 1788
Box 1, Folder 3 Peale, Polk & Trumbull, Battle Paintings, Reproductions, 1784-
Box 1, Folder 4 Paintings by Unknown Artist, Reproduction after Dawkins, 1800?
Box 1, Folder 5 Latrobe Sketch, Floor Plan, Reproduction, 1802, 1803
Box 1, Folder 6 Primitive Painting or Drawing, Reproduction, circa 1825
After 1804/05: Shows Stanhope and Philosophical Halls; Before 1833: East College not shown. Size of trees indicates 1825.
Box 1, Folder 7 Commencement Ball Invitation, Reproduction., 1825
Box 1, Folder 8 Bufford Lithograph, Reproductions, 1838?
Original in large file drawer 7.
Box 1, Folder 9 1831: Cut on 1831 Commencement Oration; 1832: Cut on Stationery; 1832: Cut from Magazine; 1836: Cut from “the Casket,” Savage (1833), 1830's
Box 1, Folder 10 Hornor-Gilbert. Same as Hornor-Gilbert Engraving Used in Catalogues 1840/41-1853/54, But without Names of Buildings in Caption, 1840?
Box 1, Folder 11 Nassau Monthly Cut Same as Letterhead, 1840's
Probably not used in Monthly before September 1845. By 1848, a cut of one of the Halls was being used.
Box 1, Folder 12 Wash Drawing, 1840
Box 1, Folder 13 J. R. Clark. Engraving; Used as Letterhead, 1844?
Box 1, Folder 14 Cut on Map of Mercer County, 1849
Box 1, Folder 15 R.S. Gilbert, Reproduction, 1852
Box 1, Folder 16 Hornor-Gilbert. Engravings Used as Front Pieces in Catalogues, 1840-1854
Also Used, as Letterhead. Those dated 1840 & 1841 have names of Hornor and Gilbert which the later ones lack.
Box 1, Folder 17 Cyclopedia of American Literature, 1855
Box 1, Folder 18 Lithograph, Unsigned, 1856
Box 1, Folder 19 F. Childs-Robertson, Seibert & Shearman, Published by George Thompson, View of Front Campus, Reproductions, 1860?
Box 1, Folder 20 F. Childs-Robertson, Seibert & Shearman, Published by McGinnes & Smith, View of Building from Northeast, Reproductions, 1860
Box 1, Folder 21 Lithograph, Reproduction, 1867
Box 1, Folder 22 Engraving from McCabe's “The Great Republic.”, 1871
Box 1, Folder 23 Peirce, Gleason's Pictorial, Aug. 6, 1853
Box 2, Folder 1 Pencil of Back Campus Showing, Nassau Hall Cupola, 1860
Box 2, Folder 2 Twentieth Century Renderings
Box 2, Folder 3 Engraving, Unsigned, Probably after F. Childs-Thompson Lithograph, Cut on Certificate Letterhead, 1860?
Box 2, Folder 4 Dawkins, Reproductions, 1764
Box 2, Folder 5
Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/kh04dp690