Two Carte-de-Visite Views of the Second Ladies’ Hall at Oberlin College, c. 1868

Oberlin, 1868. Albumen photographs, 2 ½ x 3 ½ inches on larger mounts. Some fading to one of the photographs, other image with excellent contrast, near fine condition overall. Near Fine. An uncommon early pair of views of the Second Ladies’ Boarding House at Oberlin College in the 1860s, taken at a time when Oberlin was one of few coeducational colleges, having first admitted women in 1837. Oberlin’s Second Ladies Hall was built in 1861-1863 and featured Itlianate architecture and a rooftop balcony. The building was opened for student accommodations in 1865. The first floor held an assembly room, a reading room, a dining room, parlors and stewards’ quarters. The second and third floors housed 100 women. The building was destroyed by a fire in 1889.