About the Collection
The Campus Views digital collection offers a wide range of types of graphic materials, from nearly the span of Oberlin College's history. The images, selected from various collections in the Archives, capture the changing built and landscape environment at Oberlin at particular points in space and time, made for various purposes.
Some of these images were published in view books or as postcards, meant to serve as triggers of memory for Oberlin students, faculty, and staff. Others appeared in promotional materials to assist in the College's efforts to advance its mission. What they have in common is the visual convention of the view, with Oberlin College as the subject.
From 1917 to 1966 the College retained a professional photographer on staff; during this half-century A. L. and A. E. Princehorn ensured high-quality photography and excellent documentation of the photographic record at Oberlin College. Arthur Ludwig Princehorn was the first to serve in this capacity, from 1917 until his sudden death in 1931. His son, Arthur Ewing Princehorn, joined the staff as assistant photographer in 1929, and succeeded his father as campus photographer from 1931 to 1966. Both photographers were exceptionally skilled, and their works in this collection provide particularly rich photographic views of the campus.
Terms in the subject field were selected from the Getty Research Institute's Art & Architecture Thesaurus.