: COLL : YALEN : NOV : PORT : NOV : ANGL : SIGILL :
1643 1721
ELIHU YALE

Seal of Yale College in New Haven in New England
Elihu Yale, 1643-1721

Location: Bingham Hall, Entryway D, 300 College Street

The bust is that of Elihu Yale. The Latin inscription that surrounds it is the trademarked seal of Yale College that is found in various places at Yale. The dates refer to the birth and death years of Eli Yale.

The bust itself seems to be a copy of a bust found on a snuff box that is now in the collection of the Yale Center for British Art. It was created by John Obrisset and given to Yale in 1788 by Ezra Stiles.

On either side of the bust are two Yales (Latin eale), or centicores. First described by Pliny the Elder <citation>, they are medieval monsters that are similar in appearance to antelope and were said to be found in a legendary land that ancient Greeks and Romans called Aethiopia.

The yale appears as a heraldic beast most notably for the Beauforts, and this inscription appears to be referencing depictions of Lady Magaret Beaufort’s Arms which feature yales as supporters. These can be found at St John’s College, Cambridge, and the Christ’s College Book of Donors, 1623.

Bingham Hall was constructed in 1928 by Walter B. Chambers. The building is built out of Longmeadow brownstone and cast stone and funds for its construction were donated by the children of Charles W. Bingham (BA 1868, MA 1871). It stands on the site of the first building on Yale’s new Haven Campus, Osborn Hall, which is referenced by the inscription featuring the bust of Elihu Yale.