On October 25, 1996 Princeton University celebrated the 250th anniversary of the granting of its original charter as the College of New Jersey. Featured here is a recording of the Charter Day convocation on the steps of Nassau Hall. Speakers include Princeton President Harold Shapiro (3:46, 27:38), Neil Rudenstine ’56, former Princeton provost and then President of Harvard University (10:03), and Richard Levin, President of Yale University (15:36). The keynote address was given by author and Nobel laureate Toni Morrison, Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities (40:06). The text of her address, titled "The Place of the Idea; The Idea of the Place" is provided here.
This blog entry is dedicated to our friend and colleague, Regine Heberlein, who loves words and ideas, and who has brought her passion for both to the Mudd Library for the past 20 months. We wish her well in her new position in Firestone Library.
(This is our sixth post about the films of diplomat John Van Antwerp MacMurray. See the first post for more background.)
Photo of Igonot carriers, taken by MacMurray on the trail between Baguio and Bontoc (Oct 1926) and sent to his mother as a postcard (John V.A. MacMurray Papers, box 26)
In the fall of 1926 MacMurray and his wife traveled through South China and to the Philippines, where they visited Governor General Leonard Wood in Manila and Camp John Hay in Baguio. A trip to Bontoc, where the MacMurrays stayed with governor John C. Early, became the highlight of the journey. Featured below is a film of this trip from Baguio to Bontoc. It contains rare footage of the local Igorots, who danced for MacMurray during a festival that Early organized in honor of his guests on October 9, 1926. The second film was shot during the boat trip from Shanghai to Hongkong, presumably preceding their visit to the Philippines. The last film that is featured contains footage of a trip to Nanking in 1929.
The film opens with footage that was shot along the trail from Baguio to Bontoc. MacMurray wrote his mother in detail about his visit to the Philippines on October 8 and December 12, 1926. A description of the Igorot festival on October 9 can be found In the second letter, which MacMurray wrote after he had returned to Peking and seen the film. His account of the dances that he filmed explains some of the footage. An old man, who was “a little drunk,” appeared in every dance, “whether of the seasoned warriors or of the maidens of the village.” MacMurray was impressed with the tact and consideration that the Igorots displayed when getting him out of the way. He also described a “particularly uprightly and engaging head-hunter,” who taught the “townsmen” the dance of another tribe, which he had recently seen.
A photo album of the trip to can be found in MacMurray’s papers (box 157). Descriptions of some of the photos may be found on postcards that he printed of the negatives and sent to his mother (box 26).
According to a list of scenes that was found among MacMurray’s reels (see SouthChinalistofscenes.pdf), the footage of this film was originally attached to that of a family vacation in Chefoo. Presumably, the film featured here covers the trip through South China that preceded the visit to the Philippines. It begins with lotus ponds at Hangchow (Hangzhou) and is followed by footage shot aboard a ship between the harbors of Shanghai and Hong Kong. In between both harbors MacMurray lists Amoy Harbor, Canton Harbor with the HMS Sacramento, and scenes along the West River, including a pagoda on the inner reach and the USS Pamfanga.
The trip to Nanking, during which MacMurray shot this footage, preceded his visit to Nanking to attend the reinterment of Sun Yat-sen on June 1, 1929 (see our previous post). The film begins with a brief train scene and footage shot aboard a boat, possibly across the Yangtze River between the train station at Pukou and Nanking. This is followed by shots of the new mausoleum for Sun Yat-sen, which appears not to be finished yet. The film ends with a train being guarded by a soldier, followed by men carrying luggage and people holding unidentified banners.
Previous posts about the films of John Van Antwerp MacMurray:
The oldest known silent movie of a Princeton football match is a four minute recording of a Yale-Princeton game, shot at Yale’s stadium in 1903. The film, which was produced by the company of Thomas A. Edison, inventor of the motion picture camera, is held at the Library of Congress and can be viewed online. Featured below is the oldest football film in the Princeton University Archives, which is also the oldest film in our entire audiovisual collection: a recording of the 1919 Princeton-Harvard match at Palmer Stadium. It is interesting to compare the annotated movie, shot from just one spot in the bleachers, with two newsreels of matches in 1941 and 1951, when the excitement of the game could be captured in movement as well as sound.
While Thomas Edison’s cameraman in 1903 tried to capture the excitement of the game with a variety of shots and angles, the unknown cameraman who shot this 1919 Princeton-Harvard match was anchored to one spot. His aim was just to film the highlights, resulting in this annotated 25 minute film of the game on November 8, 1919, which ended in a 10-10 tie. We do not have any information about the context of this film. The earliest references to the practice of filming Princeton football and other events date from the early 1920s. The Princeton University Archives holds some football films from 1928, but most films found in the Football Films collection date from the 1950s forward. (Additional newsreels of games from the 1950s will be posted at a later date.)
The 1941 football newsreel, which captures Princeton’s loss to Pennsylvania 23-0, includes footage of the traditional tearing down of the goal post after the game (1:18). The second newsreel captures Princeton’s 5th game of 1951, which ended with a 53-15 victory (mistakenly announced as 53-14) over previously undefeated Cornell (01:44). The game has been called the ‘finest hour’ of Dick Kazmaier ’52, who was voted “All American” in both his junior and his senior year, and won the Heisman trophy as the player of the year in 1951.
These films are part of the University Archives’ Historical Audiovisual Collection. The 1919 film is a 16mm film (item no. 0166) and the newsreels were found on a Betacam 30 video capture of the original newsreels (item no 1344).
(This is our fifth post about the films of diplomat John Van Antwerp MacMurray. See the first postfor more background.)
When watching MacMurray’s peaceful films of China, it is easy to forget that the country was torn by civil war for most of the time he served as minister. The films labeled “Peking Misc(ellaneous) I-II,” serve as a reminder. The first film opens with drills of the U.S. Marines of the Legation Guard, who protected the legation and, in emergencies, American citizens. In addition, the second film contains elaborate, rare footage of Nationalist troops, which may have been shot during the “capture” of Peking in June 1928 that ended the Nationalists’ Northern Campaign and left Chiang Kai-shek and his party in control of the country.
Above: Newspaper clipping of June 18, 1928, about a break-in by Nationalist soldiers of Ta Pei Ssu, a temple leased by MacMurray (box 104).
According to a newspaper clipping in MacMurray’s papers, Nationalist soldiers broke into the ‘Ta Pa Ssu’ temple in the Western Hills, which was leased by the MacMurray family. (For more on temple renting, see our previous entry.) Fear of looting and violence against foreigners, as had occurred during the Nationalist capture of Nanking in March 1927, was widespread. These fears proved unfounded, however, as can be read in My Life in China, the memoirs of Hallett Abend, a reporter for the New York Times. After negotiations with the foreign legations, the generals of the armies that surrounded the city agreed that Chang Tso-lin, the Manchurian warlord in control of Peking, would be allowed to leave the city, while his best-disciplined troops stayed behind to retain order. When General Yen Hsi-shan’s troops entered the city through the South Gate, Chang’s troops would exit through the Northeast gate. Does MacMurray’s footage capture these events?
The first film opens with a visit of presumably Admiral Clarence Williams, commander in chief of the US Asiatic Fleet (1:09), and a parade by the Marines of the Legation Guard. (The naval officers with bicorn hats (0:53) are not identified). The footage continues with a long series of drills, in which the Marines are simulating their defense of the Legation Quarter: first, the gates are closed and mounted Marines are sent out to “rescue” Americans (1:39), while heavy machine guns and supplies are retrieved from the armory with two wheel carts (2:01). This is followed by artillery drill practice from the Tartar Wall (2:30). The remainder of the film shows various Peking sites, including Beihai Park, and footage of Peking in snow. In addition, the film contains street and market scenes and shots of musicians and performers.
The second film continues with local scenes of Peking and its surroundings, including a funeral procession (0:12), street and market scenes, ice skating (2:21), and the selling and burning of incense at a temple (4:34). The footage that may capture the entry of Nationalist soldiers in Peking starts at 7:14.
MacMurray filmed an encounter with an unidentified military officer (7:58), groups of vehicles and packed camels, and armed and unarmed troops (8:38, 8:43, 8:54, 9:13, 9:19, 9:35), wearing different armbands and on two occasions carrying different flags (8:38 and 8:54). Filming the groups from different locations, MacMurray appears to have sought a variety of military and uniformed groups, alternating with shots of onlookers and guards. Of particular interest are the men with straw hats wearing armbands with Guomindang stars (9:35). The film ends with footage of a soldier raising the Nationalist flag (10:15), and a scene at a train station, with soldiers leaving on an open car (10:22). The brief footage following, shot aboard a boat, does not seem to be related.
The footage leaves many questions. Did MacMurray film this on June 8 1928, the day that the Nationalist troops entered the city, or was it spread over a few days? Who was the military officer who gets so much attention (the fourth from the left in the picture here)? What do the two flags at 8:38 and 8:54 indicate, and what is the meaning of the different armbands, which were often used to differentiate between forces and units (8:38, 9:19, 9:36)? Ultimately, who are the troops in the end, leaving by train? When the Manchurian troops, who had been promised safe conduct, evacuated the city, they were surrounded and disarmed by the soldiers of a subordinate general, Han Fu-chu. The incident required the intervention of the diplomatic corps. Is any of this footage related to that? If you are able to shed any light on the films, we would love hear from you!
Our thanks to Dirk Haig for his explanation of the Marine drills, Shuwen Cao for her identifications of local scenes, and Edward McCord for his information about Chinese uniforms, armbands, and flags.
Previous posts about the films of John Van Antwerp MacMurray:
One of Princeton’s most popular faculty members of the mid-20th century was chemistry professor Hubert Newcombe Alyea ’25 (1903-1996), known for his colorful and explosive chemistry demonstrations that sometimes burned his suits. Alyea taught at Princeton between 1930-1972, but gave lectures around the country and the world and worked to make teaching science by demonstration with simple means more feasible in developing nations. Walt Disney’s inspiration for the film ‘The Absent-Minded Professor’ (1961) occurred while attending one of Alyea’s lectures, and he invited Alyea to Hollywood, where actor Fred MacMurray copied his mannerisms for the film. Two of Alyea’s most famous demonstration lectures are featured here.
Alyea developed his two-hour lecture, “Atomic Energy: Weapon for Peace,” in 1945, when the horrors and power of the atomic bomb had just been impressed in people’s minds. He presented the lecture some 2,800 times in many different countries. In it, Alyea explains the principles of the atomic bomb and atomic energy, using a variety of chemistry demonstrations, interspersed with whimsical comments and ending with his personal views about world peace. Featured here is a shortened version of the lecture for a television program that was part of the series “Princeton ’55, an Exploration into Education through Television.” The series was broadcast by NBC in cooperation with Princeton University.
During the last week of his class ‘Chemistry 104’ Hubert Alyea applied the lessons from chemical research to a philosophy of life. He ended with a spectacular final lecture that was famous throughout his career. After his retirement in 1972, Alyea continued to present “Lucky Accidents, Great Discoveries and the Prepared Mind” as a guest lecturer across the country. He was also a popular fixture at Princeton Reunions. The film featured here was created around 1985 by the Alumni Council, using excerpts of the lecture from a recording at Louisiana State University. The lecture ends with Alyea singing “The Orange and the Black,” while mixing solutions that show the colors of Yale, Harvard, and Princeton (23:13).
These films (a 16 mm film and a VHS video) are part of the University Archives’ Historical Audiovisual Collection (items no. 0099 and 1296).
(This is our fourth post about the films of diplomat John Van Antwerp MacMurray. See the first post for more background.)
Detail of MacMurray’s German map of the Peking surroundings. The Pa Ta Ch’u valley, with Ta Pei Ssu, the temple rented by MacMurray (no. 41) is shown at the left of the center above Mo shi Kou.
To escape the heat and air of the city, diplomats in Peking (Beijing) spent their weekends and summers in the Western Hills, the hilly region to the northwest of Peking, where they often “rented a temple.” During his previous time in Peking as Secretary to the Legation (1913-1917), MacMurray expressed his love for the Hills in hundreds of photographs of the area’s temples and scenery. When he returned in 1925, he focused his motion picture camera on people instead. In addition to family and friends, MacMurray filmed village and rural scenes during various trips in the Hills, where transport was often by donkey. MacMurray labeled the films himself, but did not provide any identifications. Some of the scenes are shot at Ta Pei Ssu, a temple in the Pa Ta Ch’u valley, where MacMurray and his family leased living quarters.
Lease of living quarters at Ta Pei Ssu for 1926-1927. The other half was kept by the temple’s administration (translation at TaPeiSsutransl.pdf).
The first film includes unidentified views and local scenes, villagers performing manual labor, donkeys and camels and their drivers, and views of the hills covered in snow. The footage also features a trip to the Ming tombs.
This film includes some family and temple scenes, probably at Ta Pei Ssu. In addition, the film includes street and village scenes, as well as footage of carriers, laborers, pig herders, and other villagers.
Miao Feng Shan (“Marvelous Peak Mountain”) was a popular pilgrimage site about 30 miles northwest of Peking. On October 23, 1928 MacMurray wrote his mother that the family was taking their guest, the artist Lilian (“Jack”) Miller, on a five-day trip in the Western Hills to Lung Ch’uan Ssu, Miao Feng Shan, Ti Shui Yen, and T’an Che Ssu. MacMurray must have shot this film during this trip. The film includes views of the Summer Palace northwest of Beijing, but the scenes following are not identified. The last part of this film seems to have been shot while climbing Miao Feng Shan.
The fragments on this reel include images of MacMurray’s children, Joan and Frank, and a guest riding donkeys in the Western Hills, possibly Lilian (“Jack”) Miller.
This brief film opens with camels and a camel herder, followed by a man who seems to be the storyteller at Chieh Tai-Ssu (a temple in the Western Hills), mentioned on the film reel label. The footage ends with a small boat being pulled across a stream.
Previous posts about the films of John Van Antwerp MacMurray:
After last week’s film about living and learning at Princeton in 1962, it is interesting to watch “A Walk in the Springtime,” created only twelve years later. The film features the legendary Frederic C. Fox, ’39, whose love and knowledge of Princeton’s history and lore made him the first and only Keeper of Princetoniana in 1976. Helped by his classmate Sandy Maxwell ’39 and Arthur (Buz) Schmidt ’74 (“He looks like a radical but he is only just the son of a classmate” 0:18) Fox reaches out to the many alumni who were uncomfortable with the rapidly changing face of campus.
As with other colleges, the civil rights movement and American involvement in Vietnam had sparked political activism at Princeton, including student demand to be part of campus governance. In addition, the traditionally all-male primarily white, Protestant, private-school educated student body had diversified. Of particular concern for conservative alumni was the introduction of coeducation in 1969. In the film Fox, Maxwell, and Schmidt, take viewers on a tour, with the aim to show that although some things have changed much is still the same.
The film opens with Freddie Fox in front of Nassau Hall’s two bronze tigers, pointing out that one is male and the other female (1:25). After a brief visit to Firestone Library, Fox, Maxwell, and Schmidt sing Princeton songs at the piano in Prospect (8:38). The last part of the film, shot from the top floor of Fine Hall (11:56), contains extensive shots of the old and new buildings on campus.
Outtakes are shown below. Frederic C. Fox died in 1981 at age 63.
(This is our third post about the films of diplomat John Van Antwerp MacMurray. See the first post for more background.)
On February 24, 1928, MacMuray, his Chinese secretary, and a naval attaché started a six-week trip along the Yangtze (Yangzi) river to inspect consulates and ports between Tsingtao (Qingdao) and Chungking. MacMurray, who took his camera along, painstakingly listed the ships, ports, and towns he filmed in passing, as well as the treacherous rapids and gorges between Shasi and Kweifu (Yangtszelists.pdf). “This Upper Yangtze trip is the most beautiful I have ever made,” he wrote his mother on March 13. The three films that MacMurray shot aboard four ships are featured here. The only reference to the political context of the films is an inconspicuous boat that represented, according to MacMurray’s notes, the “American Consulate at Nanking, temporarily at Chinkiang.” Since its capture in March 1927, Nanking (Nanjing) had been the capital of the Nationalist Party, which was, by the time of MacMurray’s trip, in control of most of South China. During the trip, MacMurray met the Nationalist Party’s foreign minister Huang (Hwang) Fu, and negotiated a settlement of the “Nanking incident,” an outburst of anti-foreign sentiments during the capture of Nanking one year before. This would pave the way for the Tariff Treaty of July 25, 1928, which, one month after the Nationalists took control of Peking, was a de facto recognition of the Nationalist regime of China.
Above: “The American Consulate at Nanking, temporarily at Chinkiang.” Photo printed on a postcard to MacMurray’s mother on May 13, 1928 (John Van Antwerp MacMurray Papers, box 26)
MacMurray’s first “Yangtsze” film begins with some brief footage in Tsinanfu, followed by outdoor scenes in Tsingtao, where administrator general Chao Chi (Zhao Qi) took MacMurray, who loved dogs, to a training session of police dogs (1:15). The destroyer USS Noa took MacMurray’s party to Shanghai, where they boarded the USS Isabel a few days later to sail to Chinkiang (Zhenjiang), and to Anking (Anqing). In Chinkiang the group paid a visit to Silver Island (Jiao Shan, 4:34), where MacMurray filmed temple scenes and a paper rubbing shop. At Chinkiang harbor MacMurray captured the Standard Oil house boat, mentioned above, where the American Consulate at Nanking was temporarily based (3:55). In Anking the party boarded SS Kungwo to Hankow (Hankou), where they were joined by Consul-General Frank Lockhart for the remainder of the journey to Chungking. The journey between Hankow and Chungking and back to Hankow (March 8-22) was traveled on river gunboat USS Guam with Admiral Yates Stirling, commander of the Yangtze Patrol. After passing Shashi and the Tiger’s Tooth Gorge, the film ends with harbor and street scenes in Ichang, where MacMurray and his party arrived on March 11.
The second Yangztze film documents the journey through the Yangtze Gorges on the upper river between Ichang and the city at the other end of the Gorges, known as Kweifu (now called Fengjie Xian). The footage ends with salt boiling at Kweifu (11:07) and some riverbank scenes with gondola-like boats that, according to MacMurray in a postcard to his mother, were native to Kweifu.
The contents of “Yangtsze III,” which continues the journey to Chungking, are not listed by MacMurray. During a stop, possibly at Wanhsien (Wanxian), MacMurray filmed the building of a boat, as well as some other riverbank scenes (2:54). The footage that follows includes a close up of MacMurray’s party with Admiral Yates Stirling (4:56), under whose command the USS Guam was sailing. Upon arrival in Chungking the party apparently visited local warlord Liu Hsiang (Liu Xiang 5:40). Subsequent footage contains street scenes and the waterfront of Chungking. The Yangtze footage that follows was filmed on the way back to Hankow. It includes the Precious Stone Rock (Shibaozhai) in Zhong Xian, a steep natural rock with pagoda that was passed on the Northern river bank.
Right: Liu Hsiang, photo portrait in the John Van Antwerp MacMurray Papers (box 120)
Previous posts about the films of John Van Antwerp MacMurray:
Since it was posted on Princeton’s Campus Life channel, “An Undergraduate View of Princeton University,” produced by the Orange Key Society in 1962, has received unexpected attention. In the film, which is staged as an instructional meeting for Orange Key guides, Charles W. Greenleaf ’63, vice-president of the Keycept Program, discusses what distinguishes Princeton from other universities, with emphasis on teacher-student relationships and opportunities for individual growth. Created several years before rebellion and reforms swept the campus, the well-scripted film is an interesting artifact.
The film includes extensive footage of faculty and campus. Subjects discussed are: faculty and the preceptorial system (with professors John Turkevich (chemistry) and Eric Goldman (history) 3:30); independent research projects (with Professor D.C. Hazen (aeronautical engineering) 6:52); research at Firestone Library (9:13); freshman advisers (11:29 and 13:44); the honor system (15:33); financial aid (17:23); dormitories (18:02); extracurricular activities and sports (19:30).
Documents within the University Archives reveal very little about the context in which the film was produced. We therefore are calling on alumni who participated. Can you tell us anything about the making of the film? Who wrote the script? What was the audience, and how long was the film in use? We look forward to your comments!
(This is our second post about the films of diplomat John Van Antwerp MacMurray. See the first post for more background.)
Foreign representatives accompanying the bier. Detail from a 9 feet long print of the procession (John Van Antwerp MacMurray Papers, box 81 folder 5).
On June 1, 1929, the body of Sun Yat-sen, leader of the Nationalist Party, who died and was buried in Peking (Beijing) in 1925, was reinterred in a new mausoleum in Nanking (Nanjing). The newly established Nationalist government invited the foreign diplomats in Peking (Beijing) to attend the ceremony. Two of the three films that MacMurray labeled “Peking I-III’ turn out to capture the trip to Nanking in the “ministers train” and back. Although MacMurray did not film the ceremony itself, “Peking II” includes rare footage of the procession of Sun’s body from his original burial place to the train station in Peking. The films below are shown in reverse order (III, II, I), as it appears MacMurray mis-numbered the films.
This film begins with scenes in Beihai Park in Peking, which include footage of soldiers, followed by local sites and scenes, including the Summer Palace. It ends with footage of who we believe is José Gallostra y Coello de Portugal, the secretary of the Spanish legation. During the train trip Gallostra drew caricatures of his colleagues, which he published in a satirical journal for French expatriates in Peking. MacMurray, whose caricature is shown on the left, sent a copy to his chief Stanley Hornbeck, with the comment that Gallostra had a “genius for caricature and an irrepressible spirit of mockery” (19 July, 1929). In the film featured here, Gallostra, who is impersonating different characters, seems to be mimicking the prescribed behavior of the diplomatic representatives when paying their last respects to Sun Yat-sen. During a ceremony on May 31, prior to the reinterment, each minister placed a wreath at the foot of the dais at the headquarters of the Nationalist Party, where the embalmed body lay in state. The three bows while moving forward and backward can be found in descriptions of the ceremony. (Our thanks to Shuwen Cao, East Asian Library, Princeton University for clarifying this).
The second film in the series begins with village scenes in the Western Hills, where diplomats and their families spent much of their free time. The film includes footage of MacMurray and his family, probably at the temple Ta Pei Ssu, where they leased living accommodations. MacMurray filmed additional street and temple scenes, followed by a local fair and other village scenes.
After footage of MacMurray’s children in costumes, the film continues with the procession of Sun Yat-sen’s body passing by the Legation Quarter (Dongjiaominxiang) on its way to the Peking train station on May 26, 1929 (6:24). It is followed by the departure of the foreign representatives in the “Ministers train” on the following day (7:56). Close-ups include the French minister Damien de Martel (7:56) and the Dutch minister W.J. Oudendijk, doyen of the diplomatic corps, standing next to José Gallostra, who is drawing in a sketchbook (8:06). The film ends with a train stop at Taianfu.
The third film continues the previous footage on the Taianfu station and includes harvesting scenes that were filmed along the Jinpu railroad on the way to Nanking. The brief footage of Sun Yat-sen’s mausoleum (0:28) was shot prior to the funeral, as MacMurray did not film the official ceremony. This is followed by street scenes in Nanking, where MacMurray filmed silk thread making and other local scenes.
The footage after this seems to have been shot at the Nanking harbor (Xiaguan), as the train station in Pukou was on the other side of the Yangzi River (1:18). The next scenes were filmed during train stops on the way back to Peking and include the Lianghsiatien (Liangxiadian) station (the man in bathrobe (1:59) is believed to be Italian minister and author Daniele Varè), as well as agricultural scenes, and local musicians. The film ends with a children’s scene in the garden of the US legation in Peking.
MacMurray, whose caricature is shown on the left, sent a copy to his chief Stanley Hornbeck, with the comment that Gallostra had a “genius for caricature and an irrepressible spirit of mockery” (19 July, 1929). In the film featured here, Gallostra, who is impersonating different characters, seems to be mimicking the prescribed behavior of the diplomatic representatives when paying their last respects to Sun Yat-sen. During a ceremony on May 31, prior to the reinterment, each minister placed a wreath at the foot of the dais at the headquarters of the Nationalist Party, where the embalmed body lay in state. The three bows while moving forward and backward can be found in descriptions of the ceremony. (Our thanks to Shuwen Cao, East Asian Library, Princeton University for clarifying this).