Rare Bird's-Eye View: Brown University, Richard Rummell

This is a rare original 1908 hand-colored engraving of the bird’s-eye view of Brown College by Richard Rummell (1848-1924) for Littig & Company of New York. Rummell’s highly desirable watercolors of colleges and universities were engraved and printed in limited editions. Original examples are difficult to find. The angle of Rummell's aerial views has made scholars believe they were done from a height of 300 feet which has led to speculation that he used a balloon, since airplanes were not in practical use at the time. He also used architectural drawings of buildings planned for the various campuses so that some of his views included prospective buildings. This was the case with the Brown print which shows the John Hay Library which did not open until two years after this picture was made. This print, which is lightly tanned from age, is in a nice gilt frame with an attractive French mat. The first picture in this listing is not of the actual print we are offering which could not be photographed well in the frame. The other pictures show the actual print behind glass to illustrate its color, condition and the label on the back from a New York City framer. The address on the label includes a postal zone, indicating it was framed between 1943 (when postal zones were introduced in larger cities) and 1963 (when ZIP codes were introduced). The overall size of the frame is 25 by 37 3/4 inches; the mat opening is 16 by 29 1/4 inches, and the design area is 13 3/4 by 28 inches. We have not examined it outside of the frame.