Unknown Library, possibly in New Haven
ArchitectPossibly designed by
Ithiel Town
(American, 1784 - 1844)
ArchitectPossibly designed by
Alexander Jackson Davis
(American, 1803 - 1892)
Dateprobably 1829-1836
MediumArchitectural drawings, ink and watercolor on paper.
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width): 13 x 18in. (33 x 45.7cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of Jessie Trumbull McClellan
Object number1913.5.51
DescriptionFront elevation of a gothic revival building, which features a gable roof with crenelated battlements along the roof line. The building also features a single central nave section supported by octaganal towers with highly ornate pinnacles topped by bouquet finials, and two side aisles supported by stepped butresses surmounted by pinnacles.
The central nave features a recessed entryway with a pointed arch and a glazed paneled wooden door, dripstone coursing between floors, and a large diamond-paned lancet arched window with cusped arch tracery details.
The side aisles each feature a single mullion lancet arched window, with hood moldings (drip lintels) and with the same diamond pane, and tracery details as in the central nave window.
NotesSubject Note: The elevation drawing, 1913.5.51, is similar in both style and conception to the section drawings 1913.5.52-53. Both sets of drawings show a gothic style building with a central nave and side aisles. Despite this similarity, both sets of drawings are untitled and it cannot be assumed that they represent the same building. The central nave features a recessed entryway with a pointed arch and a glazed paneled wooden door, dripstone coursing between floors, and a large diamond-paned lancet arched window with cusped arch tracery details.
The side aisles each feature a single mullion lancet arched window, with hood moldings (drip lintels) and with the same diamond pane, and tracery details as in the central nave window.
Though these drawings are untitled and the building unknown, they sometimes have been identified as the original Wadsworth Atheneum building or, more recently, as the Old Library (Dwight Chapel) at Yale, or the Astor Library in New York. All three buildings were designed and built around the same time. It seems unlikely that these drawings represent the Astor Library, since drawings by Town and Davis in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection show a radically different design.
(D. Ceder)
Status
Not on view
Object/Object