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Web Exclusives:
Under the Ivy November
5 , 2003: Princeton in Reason and Rhymes In the fall of 1941, PAW's editors, Douglas Stuart '35 and Robert Bordley '40, seemed to be in a nostalgic frame of mind. Perhaps it was the unease abroad; perhaps the dim prospects for the football team. Whatever the reason, PAW of this period is filled with photographs of campus and of campus traditions. Blair Arch, Holder Hall, Palmer Stadium, and a clapper-nabbing in progress ("Who this unidentified freshman is, whether or not his nefarious plot was successful, and how we got this shot we dare not reveal," noted the editors) adorned the covers. "Going Back," a duo of photos of the same scene, one shot recently and the other long ago, was a regular feature. (Perhaps the most entertaining shot in this series were those of the same corner of a single dorm room, 3 West Middle Witherspoon, in 1896 and again in 1941. The early room is cluttered with fabrics — draped over the fireplace, Holy Public Safety! — furniture, and beer mugs, and decorated, we are told, with orange and black wallpaper. Forty-five years later the beer mugs remain, but the décor is wholly subdued.) But the most clever feature of that fall's PAW was a weekly trivia quiz, "And you went to Princeton?" The magazine ran a small detail from a photograph of a campus building, with the rules: "We will send to the reader who mails us before 11:59 p.m. Monday the most unique, amusing four-line jingle (poem, if you will), describing the accompanying picture his choice of reserved football tickets for any forthcoming game or a purchase order at the University Store equal to the price of the tickets. The envelope must bear the sender's name and address in the upper left-hand corner. The hour stamped on the postmark will be proof of the hour of mailing. The editors of the Weekly shall determine the winner and their decision shall be final. No one except alumni of Princeton shall be eligible to compete." Serious stuff, taken appropriately seriously by PAW's readers. Arguments have been made that the literary abilities of today's generation of scholars pale in comparison to those of its predecessors; look no further than this contest for proof. The first photo, which showed four chimney stacks on a roof, garnered this winner from James R. Sloane 1900 of New York City: "Here dwelt I after freshman year Under a mansard ugly—drear West was a sad aesthetic flop Till Aymar gave it this trim top." As the editors wrote in praise, the jingle "not only showed an intimate acquaintanceship with the building, but a thorough knowledge of Poe's 'The Raven' and the name of the architect who redesigned West College in 1926, Aymar Embury 1900." Subsequent pictures showed views through arches from Holder to Campbell to Blair; Commons (twice — oops); and Palmer Stadium. A tricky shot of Cuyler earned this clever rhyme from Edwin Jarrett Jr. '29: "Stepped windows facing south o'er slate In steeply angled fall,/ iew treetops, Patton, the railroad gate, Fourth floor, fourth entry Cuyler Hall." A campus path drew this response from Keene Mitchell Jr. '36: "When the fun-loving tenant of Walker Comes staggering home from a spree, He must pass 'twixt the Scilla of Cuyler And Charybdis of 1903." All the winning jingles showed intelligence and wit, but my favorite was penned by Andrew C. Imbrie '95. He wrote of one familiar campus landmark: "The eaves of old Stanhope remind us Of days when our college bills threatened to blind us. The gates of Old Stanhope we never dared crash To call on the bursar — unless we had Cash."
Jane Martin ’89 is PAW's former editor-in-chief. You can reach her at paw@princeton.edu
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