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Description

An evocative pictorial map of Dartmouth College, created during a key moment in the physical transformation of the campus. Architect Jens Frederick Larson, a Beaux-Arts-trained designer who served as the college’s supervising architect from 1919 to 1947, drafted this whimsical vision in support of the 1928 Alumni Fund campaign. It was likely distributed to alumni donors as a promotional premium.

The map places the College Green at the center, surrounded by dormitories, lecture halls, chapels, dining commons, and athletic facilities. Each structure is shown in elevation, with individual buildings labeled, and several planned expansions (including future dormitories) sketched in outline. Larson’s recently completed Baker Library anchors the plan’s center, reflecting the new Georgian brick style that would come to define the college’s architectural identity under his leadership. A playful ribbon of musical notes dances over the Baker Library, while the words “to White Mountains” curve off the upper right edge.

The map is framed by a decorative border rich in Dartmouth lore and symbolism. Panels along the edges include stylized figures representing the college’s founding in 1769, a colonial-era student in a hat, and a modern football player labeled “1925.” These visual references reflect the institution’s evolving identity across time. The upper border carries a line from Richard Hovey’s Dartmouth song: “They have the still North in their souls, the hill winds in their breath,” a poetic invocation of place and memory. At bottom left, the map is credited to the Dartmouth College Alumni Fund.

The composition belongs to a small but influential group of early 20th-century pictorial campus maps, a genre blending graphic design, institutional branding, and promotional art. Unlike many such works, this one was drawn not by a commercial illustrator, but by the architect most responsible for the modern appearance of the campus.

Condition Description
Color lithograph. Backed on tissue. Minor staining in the margins.