The Rose Studio did a variety of work in addition to individual and group portraits. A sizable portion of the business was copy work. The Roses photographed documents, old photos, and art work. In an era before the Xerox machine, making copies of documents and other images was an important part of commercial photography. Other work could be quite unusual, and for modern viewers, quite puzzling.

Albert Einstein by Carola Spaeth Hauschka Drawing dated 1935 In 1933, Albert Einstein moved to Princeton because Nazi intolerance made it dangerous to remain in Germany. He stayed until his death in 1955. A Nobel Prize recipient, he was appointed to Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study and was commonly seen around town. While vacationing in Old Lyme, Connecticut, Einstein sat for Princeton portrait artist Carola Spaeth Hauschka.

Princeton Borough has been a center for business and trade since the early 18th century. Originally a stop on the stagecoach route between New York and Philadelphia, it grew to be a thriving commercial and intellectual center. At the end of the 19th century, a variety of shops and services, including the Rose Studio, catered to the needs of visitors as well as local residents and students. The expansion of the college into a university in 1896, the influence of Italian immigrants, and the migration of African Americans and other groups swelled the local population. New businesses and technologies catered to the needs of the growing community.

The Adam Dohm Bakery Staff c. 1885 Dohm’s Bakery, founded in 1863, operated until the 1910s. In baker’s uniform, left to right, are an unidentified apprentice head baker Charles Nill, another unidentified baker, Mr. Dohm and Jacob Lutz.

Sports photography conveys attitudes about recreation, fitness, the body, and personal achievement. The Rose Studio photographed numerous individual athletes and teams who played for schools and community groups. The resulting image could be a “rough and ready” high school team or the more reserved and polished gentleman’s gun club. With one known exception, the images are of boys and men. Lack of significant female representation reveals 19th and early 20th century attitudes regarding the impropriety of women’s participation in sports.

Girls Basketball Team c. 1920s This basketball team (probably Princeton High School), is the only photo of girls’ or women’s sports that we have found thus far in the Rose Collection. These girls are on a basketball team. How have uniforms changed? Why? Do you think girls should play sports?

Many images in the Rose Collection are of buildings. These photographs may have been created for advertisements, for insurance purposes, or simply as a record of a house or workplace. The subjects range from grand estates to humble homes and include both interior and exterior views. The images provide us with a documentary account of much of the development of Princeton architecture. In some cases, they are all that remain of now vanished structures.

Princeton University Chapel February 7, 1928 Taken near its completion, this image demonstrates the sheer size of the Gothic Revival chapel's interior. The accompanying label neatly recorded the architects, the construction company, and the date. Ralph Adams Cram was the University's supervising architect from 1907 to 1930; his other work includes the Graduate College.

The Rose Studio was hired to photograph many community events–dedications of buildings and monuments, visits from the well-known, public events of all kinds. Just as today’s important ceremonies and celebration are documented by photographs and videotape, similar events were preserved by the Roses. They serve as an important historical record of what community residents considered worthy of remembering.

Booker T. Washington in Princeton September 6, 1914 Washington (center, hat in lap) came to Princeton to speak at the First Presbyterian Church. He is shown here with members of Princeton’s African-American community. The program included a prayer by the Rev. Amos Wilson and a hymn sung by Witherspoon Public School children. Dr. Jesse E. Proctor (first row, far right,) delivered the welcoming address and the Rev. Dr. Sylvester W. Beach the introductory address. Do you know who Booker T. Washington was? Research him in your school or town library. Ask an adult to help you.

Woodrow Wilson Leaving Princeton for Washington, DC After His Election as President From a vintage print, c. 1912

Princeton is and always has been a dynamic town. It has undergone the transformation from a rural farming community to a busy center of commerce and residential development. The D & R Canal, once an active transportation hub, is now a recreational park for long walks and canoe rides. Outlying farmland has been replaced by homes and corporate campuses. Perhaps most striking of all, the expansion of the business district and the Princeton University campus have filled in much of the remaining open space in the town center.

The View From Rosedale Farm Taken from Rosedale Farm, this view shows the once rural area, now suburbanized

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The exhibition text and all photographs are not for reproduction or publication. Permission to use excerpts may be obtained from Gail F. Stern, Director, the Historical Society of Princeton