Owner Biography
Edgar M Palmer
Edgar M. Palmer (1881-1943) was the son of Stephen S. Palmer, and an heir to the New Jersey Zinc Company fortune. At one time New Jersey Zinc Company was the largest producer of zinc and zinc products in the United States.
He graduated from Princeton in 1903 and eventually became a charter trustee of Princeton. He was President of The New Jersey Zinc Company, and the Palmer family controlled the company for 46 years until the death of Edgar Palmer in 1943, when the Palmer estate was forced to sell its controlling interest in order to pay inheritance taxes.
Edgar Palmer was a prominent benefactor of both the town of Princeton and the University. He donated Palmer Stadium, which was officially was dedicated to his father, Stephen S. Palmer on November 13, 1914, when Princeton played Yale.
Palmer was also instrumental in building Palmer Square in Princeton, which was designed as a European-style town center.
Palmer was also a reknown yachtsman and served as Commodore of American Yacht Club in Rye. He commissioned and sailed the famous three masted schooner Guinevere which he gave to the US Navy during the first World War. He built a second ship after the war, and donated that one to the U.S. for use in World War II to help detect enemy activity along the U.S. coastline.
It is unclear where Palmer acquired the block, but it may have been from the Economist Stamp Company. Four years after Palmer's death, his wife donated the block to Princeton University.
He graduated from Princeton in 1903 and eventually became a charter trustee of Princeton. He was President of The New Jersey Zinc Company, and the Palmer family controlled the company for 46 years until the death of Edgar Palmer in 1943, when the Palmer estate was forced to sell its controlling interest in order to pay inheritance taxes.
Edgar Palmer was a prominent benefactor of both the town of Princeton and the University. He donated Palmer Stadium, which was officially was dedicated to his father, Stephen S. Palmer on November 13, 1914, when Princeton played Yale.
Palmer was also instrumental in building Palmer Square in Princeton, which was designed as a European-style town center.
Palmer was also a reknown yachtsman and served as Commodore of American Yacht Club in Rye. He commissioned and sailed the famous three masted schooner Guinevere which he gave to the US Navy during the first World War. He built a second ship after the war, and donated that one to the U.S. for use in World War II to help detect enemy activity along the U.S. coastline.
It is unclear where Palmer acquired the block, but it may have been from the Economist Stamp Company. Four years after Palmer's death, his wife donated the block to Princeton University.
