The glass plate negative prints consist of 479 contact prints made from the glass plate negatives that were stored in original negative boxes in a crate found in the MacMillan Building on Princeton University campus. The original order of the glass plate negatives, as they were stored within the original negative boxes, has been maintained. While it is not entirely certain, presumably around 1906, someone (perhaps Alexander R. Gulick or the photographer) placed these negatives in the boxes and labeled each with a subject. This arrangement does not reflect any chronological order or numerical order in terms of the numbers assigned to each negative, but it does appear to reflect how the images were used. The original glass plate boxes have been kept and are housed at the end of the collection as a separate series.
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Dam, undated
New Dam [a], undated
New Dam [b], undated
New Dam [c], undated
New Dam [d], undated
New Dam [e], undated
New Dam [f], undated
New Dam [g], undated
New Dam [h], undated
Subseries 1I: State Turnpike and Turnpike (Trenton-New Brunswick Turnpike, now U.S. Rte. 1), undated
Consists of 38 photographs, most likely taken with a Kodak Brownie camera, taken by an unidentified photographer between March and May 1905 of the area that would become Lake Carnegie. At this point the work of clearing the lake bed had begun, as had some excavation work, but no actual construction had commenced on any of the bridges or the dam. There are images of houses, bridges, mills, and views of the land to be cleared and excavated. There is also a photograph of Howard Russell Butler, Alexander R. Gulick and the Committee of Chosen Freeholders of Mercer County. This is one of the few photographs of individuals involved with the project in which some of the people are identified.
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 3: Period Prints, undated
Consists of 314 black and white photographic prints arranged by negative number, presumably made between 1905 and 1906 (perhaps as late as early 1907) from the glass plate negatives. These were housed with the glass plate negatives found in the MacMillan building on campus. As there are only 314 prints and 479 glass plates, this is not a complete run of prints. However, some of these prints represent photographs for which we do not have negatives, and some of these images have notations on the backs indicating the subject.
Arranged by negative number. Miscellaneous items are not arranged.
Series 4: Albums, 1905-1907
Contains two photograph albums of Lake Carnegie construction. The origin of the photograph albums is not known.
Albums are listed in the order that they were donated or transferred to the library.
Consists of 22 boxes of original glass plate negatives, arranged in the same order as the contact prints. The glass plates will not circulate under normal conditions. All reproductions will be made from the contact prints.
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Aquaduct, undated
Below Aquaduct [a], undated
Below Aquaduct [c], undated
Basin, undated
Canal Road, undated
Dam--October, undated
New Dam [a], undated
New Dam [b], undated
New Dam [c], undated
New Dam [d], undated
New Dam [e], undated
New Dam [f], undated
New Dam [g], undated
New Dam [h], undated
Harrison Street [a], undated
Harrison Street [b], undated
Kingston Mill, undated
Lake--July, undated
State Turnpike, undated
Turnpike, undated
Washington St. July, undated
Washington St. October, undated
Fused Negatives, undated
Two archival boxes house the 36 original glass plate negative boxes in which the collection was found.
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
The prints were made from the glass plate negatives for a 2006 Princeton University Library exhibition on Lake Carnegie's creation curated by Dan Linke. The exhibition was titled, "'O, What a Place for a Lake': The Centennial of the Construction of Loch Carnegie." The prints are 8" x 10", larger than the earlier contact prints. Subjects of the prints include the Gulick Boathouse, Washington Road Bridge, Aqueduct, Harrison Street Bridge, Kingston Mill, the dam, the Alexander Road area, the boat launch, and the future site of Lake Carnegie.
The prints are not in a discernible order. Many of the prints show the numbers from the original glass plate negatives. A few photographs not used in the exhibition are marked with an enclosure.
- Scope and Contents
The collection contains 479 dry gelatin glass plate negatives measuring 5 x 7 inches that document the construction of Lake Carnegie in Princeton, NJ. There are also 314 black and white paper prints developed approximately at the time the photographs were taken. The negatives and prints date from circa 1905 to 1907, with the bulk dating from 1905 to 1906. In addition, there are 38 amateur prints taken in March through May 1905 depicting the land before any construction work commenced, and two photograph albums containing construction images.
It is not known who took the photographs that document the construction of Lake Carnegie, but there are several possibilities, and because there appears to be more than one negative numbering system there may have been more than one photographer. The engineer of the lake project would have overseen the taking of photographs, and upon the death of J. J. R. Croes a great deal of photographic equipment and supplies were inventoried in his office. However, it is unlikely that Croes took the photographs himself; as engineer of the entire Lake Carnegie project he would probably have hired a photographer. F. P. Gridley, who worked as foreman and timekeeper of the lake project, owned copyright of the photographic souvenir booklet published for the lake's opening celebrations (1906), but Gridley is never mentioned in the records of the lake project as the photographer. James M. McKenzie writes to Alexander Gulick that he was making a complete photographic record of the work done on the lake, but because McKenzie also writes to Gulick of "the photographer" or "his photographer" at various points, it does not seem likely that McKenzie took these photographs. At the end of December 1906 McKenzie wrote to Gulick that a photographer by the name of Hazard was going to come to take photographs of the lake. This must refer to E. W. Hazard, and there is one photograph taken by E. W. Hazard of the Delaware & Raritan Canal in the Historical Photograph Collection - Grounds and Buildings Series - Lake Carnegie. Hazard may have taken some of the construction photographs, although he did not sign any of the negatives or prints found in the negative boxes as he did the photograph of the Canal.
As mentioned above, there appears to be more than one system of numbering the Lake Carnegie glass plate negatives. In some instances there are duplicate negative numbers, and some negatives have what appears to be a date indicated on the negatives. For example, a negative in the box identified as "Washington Street July" is labeled "864 7/3." This may indicate that the photograph was taken on July 3, but this is not certain and should not be taken at face value.
- Acquisition:
The main body of the Lake Carnegie Construction Photographs was discovered in a crate in the stock room of the MacMillan Building at Princeton University in 1994. The side of the crate was inscribed with the name A. R. Gulick. Alexander Reading Gulick (Princeton, Class of 1889), a lawyer, was hired by Howard Russell Butler to oversee the acquisition of the lake property and the construction of the lake. The origins of the "Brownie" prints and other amateur prints are unknown.
- Appraisal
No appraisal information is available.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Melissa Johnson with assistance from Scott Hamilton in 2000. Alison Speckman produced the archival contact prints from the glass plate negatives. Finding aid written by Melissa Johnson, Scott Hamilton in 2000. Box 12 was added by Christie Peterson in August 2012. Glass plate negatives were rehoused and new box numbers were assigned for the collection in September 2019. Series 7 was added in 2024 by Phoebe Nobles. Lexy deGraffenreid updated the Conditions Governing Access note in January 2025.
- Conditions Governing Access
Access to glass-plate negatives is restricted due to their fragility. Where prints of the negatives are present, the prints are open for research use. Though digitization may not be possible for every negative, researchers may make requests to digitize material via the Ask Special Collections, form according to Special Collections' policy on digitization.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.
For instances beyond Fair Use where the copyright is not held by the University, while permission from the Library is not required, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Historical Photograph Collection, Lake Carnegie Construction Photographs; Princeton University Archives, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Permanent URL:
- http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/qb98mf459
- Location:
-
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript LibrarySeeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library65 Olden StreetPrinceton, NJ 08540, USA
- Storage Note:
- Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Box 1-31
- Subject Terms:
- Bridges -- Design and construction. -- photographs
Construction workers. -- photographs
Dams -- New Jersey -- Carnegie, Lake -- Design and construction. -- photographs
Excavation. -- photographs - Genre Terms:
- Gelatin dry plate negatives.
Photographic prints
Photographs, Original. - Places:
- Carnegie, Lake (N.J.). -- photographs
Delaware and Raritan Canal (N.J.). -- photographs
United States Highway 1. -- photographs