Foreword
It is rare when time and circumstances cooperate in the production of
significant work and rarer still when these occur with a capable spokesman
to give expression to this cooperation. Such a happy event is witnessed in
these pages. This book celebrates the sesquicentennial of the founding of
the University of Virginia. Those who treasure this place as their alma mater
and those who treasure it as the supreme example of collegiate buildings in
this country can only applaud the bringing together for the first time of a
pictorial record consisting of nineteenth-century prints, compiled with wit,
wisdom, and imagination. Fortunate is the coincidence of time, circumstance,
and personality.
Many will find familiar scenes in the pages which follow. Many will see
Mr. Jefferson's "Academical Village" for the first time or from new viewpoints.
Certainly all will be the beneficiaries of a much more comprehensive
view of the University. The diversity of impression these buildings have had
on those who have seen them is good to record. It is especially fitting that
this record is put into form now as the University looks ahead to the next
one hundred and fifty years. For recording the past with candor can provide
a basis for new accomplishment. I see this collection not so much as a
historic document and a catalogue, but as a point of departure for the new
environment the University seeks to help create. Formidable tasks face us
all in creating an environment for society today and the lessons to be
learned from Mr. Jefferson's creation at the University—both tangible and
intangible—are worthy of study. This volume is important because it defines
some of these tangible qualities.
J. Norwood Bosserman
Dean, School of Architecture
University of Virginia
