Image courtesy Historic New England
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Print Title: South view of the Several Halls of Harvard College taken from the Balcony of the Presidents House Description:
This image shows (left to right) Massachusetts Hall, Harvard Hall, Hollis Hall, Stoughton Hall, Holworthy Hall and University Hall. The pottery view shows a closeup of University Hall on the far right.
Cummings & Hilliard first offered the pair of "Views of the
Colleges in Cambridge" for sale to subscribers in the August 15, 1821
issue of the Boston Daily Advertiser. The original oil paintings,
completed by Alvin Fisher in 1821, were titled "A view of the interior
of the college yard, taken from the President's House" and "A view of
the Colleges in Cambridge taken from a situation between the Charlestown
and Craigie Bridge Roads." Early sources indicate that the former,
southern, view was actually taken from the roof of Wadsworth house. The Harvard Book,
v. 1 also indicates that the first engravings were done after india ink
sketches completed as studies by Fisher, rather than the oil cavases.
Cummings & Hilliard advertised the canvases on view in ther bookshop
at No. 1 Cornhill in order to gain subscribers for the print series. William
B. Annin and George G. Smith formed their partnership around the time
they produced this view and continued as engravers in Boston until 1835.
They worked in the new medium of lithography as well as engraving,
under the name Annin & Smith Senefelder Lithographic Company.
Pendleton's Lithography eventually purchased Senefelder in 1831. For a thorough history of the many printed and painted views of Harvard, see Hamilton Vaughan Bail, Views of Harvard: a pictorial record to 1860. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1949.
Print Source:
One of a pair of views of Harvard College originally drawn and painted in oil on canvas by Alvan Fisher. This view was engraved by Annin & Smith for Boston-based Cummings, Hilliard & Company, May 1, 1823. It is inscribed "Fisher pinx" and "Annin & Smith Sc" with the names of each building on the lower margin. This was the first occasion for Holworthy Hall to appear in print, as it had just opened for students a few years before.
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