The Library of Congress was established by an act of Congress in 1800
when President John Adams signed a bill providing for the transfer of the
seat of government from Philadelphia to the new capital city of Washington.
The legislation described a reference library for Congress only,
containing "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress -- and
for putting up a suitable apartment for containing them therein…"
Established with $5,000 appropriated by the legislation, it was housed
in the new Capitol until August 1814, when invading British troops set
fire to the Capitol Building, burning and pillaging the contents of the
small library.
Within a month, retired President Thomas Jefferson offered his personal
library as a replacement. Jefferson had spent 50 years accumulating books,
"putting by everything which related to America, and indeed whatever was rare
and valuable in every science"; his library was considered to be one of the
finest in the United States.
The Evolution of the Written Word
The murals in the six lunettes by John White Alexander (1856-1915)
illustrate The Evolution of the Book. In historical order, the subjects
begin at the south end with The Cairn, Oral Tradition,
and Egyptian Hieroglyphics and continue at the north end with Picture Writing, The Manuscript Book, and The
Printing Press.
The Cairn
In The Cairn the artist depicts a company of primitive men
who have arranged a pile of stones along the seashore, perhaps in
memory of a dead comrade, to commemorate an event, or merely as a
record of the stages of their journey.
In Oral Tradition the artist depicts members of a nomadic
tribe who listen while a storyteller recites the stories and legends of
their culture, thus preserving and disseminating their contents.
In Egyptian Hieroglyphics the artist depicts a young
Egyptian workman who sits on a scaffold and cuts a hieroglyphic
inscription into the hard stone above the portal of a temple precinct,
making the information it contains something that will last throughout
the ages. More stones and a pyramid are visible in the distance, across
the river.
In Picture Writing the artist depicts a young American
Indian who sits in the foreground with a saucer of paint beside him and
illustrates a tribal story upon the carefully prepared hide of an
animal making the information both durable and portable. A young Indian
girl observes his skillful work.
In The Manuscript Book the artist depicts the scriptorium
of a monastery, where one monk sits in the pale light of a small
window, laboriously illuminating a copy of the pages of a great folio
book, while in the background a supervisor reviews the work of another
copy prepared by a colleague.
In The Printing Press the artist depicts the famous printer
Johannes Gutenberg (ca.1400-1468), the first person in Western Europe
to create a great book using movable metal type. The master, with an
assistant beside him, reviews a newly printed proof sheet while an
apprentice strenuously pulls against the handle of the press to make
another copy.
The series of murals in the lunettes of the Reading Room vestibule are
by Elihu Vedder (1836-1923) and depict Government. The central
mural, located over the doorway leading into the Main Reading Room,
represents the abstract concept of a republic as an ideal state. The paired
lunettes to the right and left, respectively, depict the practical workings
of government, and the conditions that can result from good or bad
administration. The prominent location of these murals reinforces the
significance of the advancement of knowledge and learning in a democracy
and the role of government in creating and sustaining a great national
library for those purposes.
Government
In Government the artist depicts a dignified female figure
against a background of the rich foliage of an oak tree, emblematic of
strength and stability. She sits on a marble bench supported by the
forms of antique voting urns placed between figures of guardian lions.
She is crowned with a wreath and holds a golden scepter (the Golden
Rule) and a tablet inscribed with words from Lincoln's Gettysburg
Address. She is flanked by winged figures of genius. The one on the
right holds a bridle and the reins of power, representing the
restraining influence of order. The one on the left holds a sword,
representing justice or the authority of government and its duty to
protect and defend the state.
In Corrupt Legislation the artist depicts a female figure
of questionable virtue against a lush and overripe background of
twining grapevines. She sits on a throne framed by cornucopias
overflowing with coins, rather than fruit or grain. The flow of the
coin is directed back toward herself rather than outward, for the good
of the people. In her hand she holds a sliding scale, more susceptible
to fraud than a balanced scale, symbolizing the type of justice which
she deals. On the right a wealthy man places a bag of gold upon her
scales as a bribe. At his feet are more bags of gold and a strongbox.
The ballots that spill from an overturned voting urn represent his
corrupt control of the sources of power. In his lap he holds the book
of Law, which he uses to his advantage.
With her right hand the central figure dismisses a simply clad girl,
representing Labor. Carrying her empty distaff and spindle, she pleads
for the work that should be hers by right, but which she cannot obtain
from a corrupt legislature, inattentive to the wrongs of the people. A
broken jar at her feet represents her hard earned savings that she has
lost. Behind her the factories are smokeless and idle, while those
behind the rich man on the right belch with the smoke of his
prosperity.
In Anarchy the artist depicts the disastrous failure of
government as a naked female figure who raves over the ruins of the
civilization she has destroyed. She holds an incendiary torch formed
from the scroll of learning. Serpents twist in her hair, and she
tramples upon a scroll, a lyre, a Bible, and a book, the symbols,
respectively, of Learning, Art, Religion, and Law. At her feet, under
the broken arch of a building is a bomb with a lighted fuse, another
tool of destruction. On the right a figure of Violence gazes upon the
cup of madness held by Anarchy while he pries out the cornerstone of a
great building, causing it to collapse, representing the destruction of
the fabric of civilization. On the left, a female figure of Ignorance
uses a surveyor-s staff to force the wreckage of civilization into a
chasm. The broken millwheel and millstone in an uncultivated field
represent the failure of industry and agriculture.
In Good Administration the artist depicts a noble female
figure who holds an open book in her lap and in her hand a pair of
scales, evenly balanced. She rests her left hand upon a shield,
quartered to represent the even balance of parties and classes that
should exist in a well-ordered democracy. On the shield are a weight,
scales, and a rule, the emblems of a just government. The frame of her
chair forms an arch, a construction where every stone performs an equal
service, symbolic of the equal part that all should play in a
democratic form of government. On the right a youth casts his ballot
into a voting urn, his decision informed by the study of the books he
carries under his arm. On the left a young girl winnows wheat into
another voting urn so that the good grains fall into its mouth, while
the chaff is scattered by the wind, an action symbolic of the care with
which a people should elect its public servants. In the background a
field of wheat is symbolic of prosperous and careful toil and
intelligent and virtuous government.
In Peace and Prosperity the artist depicts a beautiful
female figure against the background of a lush olive tree, a symbol of
the Goddess Minerva, peace, fruitfulness, strength, and achievement.
She sits holding two wreaths to be bestowed as the reward for
excellence and is flanked by two youths. The youth on the left sits
upon a jar or ancient amphora while he decorates a piece of pottery. In
the background is a Greek temple representing Architecture and in the
foreground a lyre for Music. The youth on the right, representing
Agriculture, kneels to plant a sapling, an act suggestive of a strong
and permanent government under which the tree can grow to reward him
with its shade and fruit for many years.
