TABLE OF CONTENTS - Introduction - A Brief History of the Library of Congress
The Thomas Jefferson Building - The John Adams Building - The James Madison Memorial Building
Author's Note and Acknowledgements - Further Reading - Concordance of Images

THE THOMAS JEFFERSON BUILDING

• The Great Hall - Second Floor
  • The East Corridor; The Entrance to the Visitors' Gallery, The Main Reading Room; Minerva; The South Corridor; The West Corridor; The North Corridor
• The Second Floor Galleries and Pavilions
  • The Southwest Gallery: The Arts, The Sciences; The Southwest Pavilion: The Discoverers; The Northwest Gallery: War, Peace; The Northwest Pavilion: Art and Science; The North Gallery: Learning;The Northeast Pavilion: Government; The Northeast Gallery: Building; The Rare Book and Special Collections Division Reading Room; The Rosenwald Room; The Hispanic Room; The Southeast Pavilion: The Elements; The South Gallery: Liberty

THE GREAT HALL - SECOND FLOOR

The East Corridor

In the center of the ceiling vault are three panels by William Andrew MacKay which represent the Life of Man. On either side of these panels are the following quotations that refer to this monumental subject.

They are, on the west side (or at the head of the paintings), from left to right:

COMES THE BLIND FURY WITH THE ABHORRED SHEARS
AND SLITS THE THIN-SPUN LIFE
Milton, Lycidas, 75

THE WEB OF LIFE IS OF A MINGLED YARN, GOOD AND ILL TOGETHER
Shakespeare, All's Well That Ends Well, Act iv., Sc. 2

FOR A WEB BEGUN GOD SENDS THREAD
Old Proverb

The quotations on the east, or at the foot of the central vault paintings, are taken from Cardinal Wolsey's speech in Shakespeare's Henry VIII. From left to right, they are:

THIS IS THE STATE OF MAN: TO-DAY HE PUTS FORTH
THE TENDER LEAVES OF HOPE.
TO-MORROW BLOSSOMS
AND BEARS HIS BLUSHING HONORS THICK UPON HIM.
THE THIRD DAY COMES A FROST,
AND NIPS HIS ROOT,
AND THEN HE FALLS.
Act iii, Scene 2

On either side of these panels are four rectangular paintings by George Randolph Barse, Jr., representing Literature. Along the east side, beginning at the north, are LYRICA (Lyric Poetry), TRAGEDY, COMEDY, and HISTORY. On the west side, again beginning at the south, are ROMANCE, FANCY, TRADITION, and EROTICA (Love Poetry).

At each end of the ceiling vault is a tablet containing the surnames of eminent American printers, and men who have contributed to the improvement of American printing machinery. At the north end are the names of GREEN, DAYE, FRANKLIN, THOMAS, and BRADFORD; at the south end, the names are CLYMER, ADAMS, GORDON, HOE, and RUCE.

The quotations on the gilt wall tablets above the windows along the east side are:

SCIENCE IS ORGANIZED KNOWLEDGE
Herbert Spencer, Essays, "The Genesis of Science," Vol. ii, 1.

Around the corner, facing the staircase, you will find:

BEAUTY IS TRUTH, TRUTH BEAUTY
Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn

On the other side of the staircase:

TOO LOW THEY BUILD WHO BUILD BENEATH THE STARS
Edward Young, Night Thoughts, "Night," viii, 215

And around the corner, facing the Great Hall:

THERE IS BUT ONE TEMPLE IN THE UNIVERSE
AND THAT IS THE BODY OF MAN
Novalis, Philosophy and Physics

Printers' marks, or trade marks from printers and publishers, embellish the upper walls of all four corridors on the second floor of the Great Hall. In the east corridor the following marks can be found:

Along the north wall
L. GIUNTA, ALDUS MANUTIUS

Along the east wall, beginning on the left
P. AND A. MEIETOS, G. DI LEGANO, J. ROSEMBACH,
A. TORRESANO, V. FERNANDEZ

Along the south wall
C. PLANTIN, I. ELZEVIR

Along the west wall, beginning on the left
FRATRES DE SABIO, MELCHOIR SESSA, O. SCOTTO,
GIAM. RIZZARDI, F. DE GIUNTA

The Entrance to the Visitors' Gallery, Main Reading Room

The vaulting of the passageway leading to the Visitors' Gallery consists of a series of six small domes. In the medallions are various objects symbolizing the Fine Arts, specifically Acting, Music, Sculpture, Literature, and Architecture.

The trophies of Sculpture and Architecture are accompanied by appropriate names. The subjects of the sculptures are the Farnese Bull, the Laocoon, the Niobe, and the Parthenon pediment. In the bordering arabeseques are the names of the four divinities often taken as the subject of ancient statuary: VENUS, APOLLO, HERCULES, and ZEUS. For Architecture, the buildings commemorated are the COLOSSEUM, the TAJ MAHAL, the PARTHENON, and the PYRAMIDS, and the cities are those with whose fame these monuments are connected: ROME, AGRA, ATHENS, and GIZEH.

In the bays opposite the two elevator entrances are two small lunettes. The painting on the north side depicts John James Audubon, the one on the south, the historian William Hickling Prescott, with Prescott's name on the painting. These two paintings, by an unknown artist, replaced the original paintings, "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso" by William G. Van Ingen, sometime between the opening of the building in 1897 and 1911. The Van Ingen paintings, according to Small's Handbook, "suggested the subjects of Milton's well-known companion poems" and included inscriptions of portions of the two poems.

Minerva

A marble mosaic of Minerva by Elihu Vedder can be seen along the wall of the staircase landing that leads to the Visitors' Gallery. The artist's name can be seen beneath the owl near her right foot. Her armor partly laid aside, this Minerva of Peace is depicted as the vigilant guardian of civilization. The various fields of learning, listed on a scroll in Minerva's hand, are: AGRICULTURE, EDUCATION, MECHANICS, COMMERCE, GOVERNMENT, HISTORY, ASTRONOMY, GEOGRAPHY, STATISTICS, ECONOMICS, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, ARCHITECTURE, MUSIC, POETRY, BIOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, BOTANY, MEDICINE, PHILOSOPHY, LAW, POLITICS, ARBITRATION, TREATIES, ARMY-NAVY, FINANCE, ART OF WAR.

Beneath the mosaic is the inscription:

NIL INVITA MINERVA QUAE MONUMENTUM AERE PERENNIUS EXEGIT
[Not unwilling, Minerva raises a monument more lasting than bronze]
Horace, Ars Poetica, 385; Carminum, iii, 30, 1.

The South Corridor

Frank Weston Benson's paintings dominate the south wall and the ceiling. The subject of Benson's four circular panels on the south wall is the Seasons, each represented by a half- length figure of a young woman. From east to west, beginning above the first door leading into the Southwest Gallery, they are Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. In the ceiling vault, the Three Graces are depicted in octagonal panels, from east to west: Aglaia (Husbandry), Thalia (Music), and Euphrosyne (Beauty). At each end of the ceiling is a rectangular panel by Frederic C. Martin painted in a style depicting ancient games, but representing the modern sports of football (east end) and baseball (west end).

A quotation from Sir Philip Sidney accompanies Frank W. Benson's painting "Summer" in the South Corridor ceiling in the Great Hall. The decorations surrounding the panel -- and throughout the building -- were the responsibility of Elmer E. Garnsey, who also supervised the lettering of the inscriptions and quotations.
The "Tongues in Trees" quotation accompanying this Frank W. Benson painting of "Winter" is from William Shakespeare's play "As You Like It." Shakespeare is the best represented writer in the Jefferson Building's iconography, his name is in the Great Hall ceiling; his bronze statue in the Main Reading Room, and words from his poetry and plays are in the first floor Southwest Corridor (Lyric Poetry) and the second-floor East, South, and North Corridors.

At the west end, Pompeiian panels by George Maynard of PRUDENCE and TEMPERANCE flank the window, just as on the east side Maynard has depicted PATRIOTISM and COURAGE. The bas-reliefs in the vault, above the west window, are by Roland Hinton Perry, and represent the Sibyls, or ancient prophetesses, who interpreted omens, delivered oracles, and foretold the future. The sibyls here portrayed are the Cumaean or Roman Sibyl (first panel) and, on the other side of the arch, a Scandinavian Vala or Wise Woman.

Around the west end window (through which you can see the Capitol), there are five semicircular or circular tablets, two of which are ornamented with the obverse and reverse of the Great Seal of the United States. The other three carry the following quotations:

BENEATH THE RULE OF MEN ENTIRELY GREAT,
THE PEN IS MIGHTIER THAN THE SWORD
Bulwer Lytton, Richelieu: Act i.i., Sc. 2

MAN RAISES, BUT TIME WEIGHS
Modern Greek Proverb

THE NOBLEST MOTIVE IS THE PUBLIC GOOD
Virgil

Quotations on the gilt tablets, beginning under the window on the east end and moving to the right, from east to west along the south wall are:

BEHOLDING THE BRIGHT COUNTENANCE OF TRUTH, IN THE QUIET
AND STILL AIR OF DELIGHTFUL STUDIES.
Milton, Introduction to Church Government

THE TRUE UNIVERSITY OF THESE DAYS IS A COLLECTION OF BOOKS
Carlyle, On Heroes and Hero-Worship, "The Hero as a Man of Letters."

NATURE IS THE ART OF GOD
Sir Thomas Browne

THERE IS NO WORK OF GENIUS WHICH HAS NOT BEEN
THE DELIGHT OF MANKIND
Lowell, Among My Books

IT IS THE MIND THAT MAKES THE MAN, AND OUR VIGOR
IS IN OUR IMMORTAL SOUL Ovid

THEY ARE NEVER ALONE THAT ARE ACCOMPANIED WITH NOBLE THOUGHTS
Sir Philip Sidney, Arcadi

MAN IS ONE WORLD AND HATH ANOTHER TO ATTEND HIM
Herbert, The Temple

TONGUES IN TREES, BOOKS IN THE RUNNING BROOKS, SERMONS IN STONES,
AND GOOD IN EVERYTHING
Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act ii, Scene 1

THE TRUE SHEKINAH IS MAN
Sir John Chrysostom

And above the west window:

ONLY THE ACTIONS OF THE JUST SMELL SWEET AND BLOSSOM IN THE DUST
Shirley, Contention of Ajax and Ulysses, Scene 3.

Quotations on the wall above the golden tablets, beginning between the windows on the west end and moving to the right along the north wall, are:

A LITTLE LEARNING IS A DANGEROUS THING;
DRINK DEEP OR TASTE NOT OF THE PIERIAN SPRING.
Pope, Essay on Criticism, Pt. ii, 215

LEARNING IS BUT AN ADJUNCT TO OURSELF
Shakespeare, Love's Labor Lost, Act iv., Scene 3

STUDIES PERFECT NATURE AND ARE PERFECTED BY EXPERIENCE
Bacon, Essays, "Of Studies"

DREAMS, BOOKS, ARE EACH A WORLD; BOOKS WE KNOW,
ARE A SUBSTANTIAL WORLD, BOTH PURE AND GOOD
Wordsworth, Personal Talk, Stanza iii

THE FAULT IS NOT IN OUR STARS
BUT IN OURSELVES, THAT WE ARE UNDERLINGS
Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2

THE UNIVERSAL CAUSE
ACTS TO ONE END, BUT ACTS BY VARIOUS LAWS
Pope, Essay on Man, Epistle iii, 1

CREATION'S HEIR, THE WORLD, THE WORLD IS MINE!
Goldsmith, The Traveller, 50

VAIN, VERY VAIN, THE WEARY SEARCH TO FIND
THAT BLISS WHICH ONLY CENTRES IN THE MIND
Goldsmith, The Traveller, 423

Medallions representing different fields of knowledge and endeavor are interspersed with the quotations, paintings, and printers' marks. On the south wall, from east to west, are PRINTING, POTTERY, and GLASS-MAKING; on the north wall, from west to east, are CARPENTRY, SMITHERY, and MASONRY.

Printers' marks, or trade marks from printers and publishers, embellish the south and north walls. On the south wall, from east to west, the marks are for:

VELPIUS; ESTIENNE; DE COLINES; REGNAULT;
VOSTRE; NIVELLE; MORIN; GRYPHE

On the north wall, from west to east, the marks are for:

WÉCHEL; TORY; CHAUDIÈRE; LE ROUGE; BREVILLE; DOLET; TRESCHEL; PETIT

The West Corridor

In the center of the ceiling vault are three panels by William B. Van Ingen representing Painting, Architecture, and Sculpture. On either side of these medallions are four rectangular paintings by Walter Shirlaw, representing The Sciences. Along the west side, beginning at the left, are ZOOLOGY, PHYSICS, MATHEMATICS, and GEOLOGY. On the east, again beginning at the left, are ARCHAEOLOGY, BOTANY, ASTRONOMY, and CHEMISTRY.

At either end of the vault is a tablet containing the names of scientists. At the north end are: LA GRANGE, LAVOISIER, RUMFORD, and LYELL; at the south end are: CUVIER, LINNAEUS, SCHLIEMANN, and COPERNICUS. On either side of these tablets, are these quotations:

South tablet
THE FIRST CREATURE OF GOD WAS THE LIGHT OF SENSE;
THE LAST WAS THE LIGHT OF REASON
Bacon, Essays, "Of Truth"

THE LIGHT SHINETH IN DARKNESS, AND THE DARKNESS
COMPREHENDETH NOT
Holy Bible, John, 1:5

North tablet
ALL ARE BUT PARTS OF ONE STUPENDOUS WHOLE,
WHOSE BODY NATURE IS, AND GOD THE SOUL
Pope, Essay on Man, "Epistle" i, 267

IN NATURE ALL IS USEFUL, ALL IS BEAUTIFUL
Emerson, Essays, "Art"

Quotations on the gilt wall tablets along the west side, beginning at the left, are as follows:

ART IS LONG, AND TIME IS FLEETING
Longfellow, A Psalm of Life

THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD IS THE BIOGRAPHY OF GREAT MEN
Carlyle, Essays, "History"

BOOKS WILL SPEAK PLAIN WHEN COUNSELLORS BLANCH
Bacon, Essays "Of Counsel"

GLORY IS ACQUIRED BY VIRTUE BUT PRESERVED BY LETTERS
Petrarch

THE FOUNDATION OF EVERY STATE IS THE EDUCATION OF ITS YOUTH
Dionysius

Printers' marks or trade marks from printers and publishers embellish the east and west walls. Along the east wall, beginning at the upper left, the marks are for these firms:

CRATANDER; VALENTIN KOBIAN; MARTIN SCHOTT;
MELCHIOR LOTTER; T. and J. RIHEL

Along the west wall, beginning on the left, the marks are for:

WOLFANG KOPFEL, FUST and SCHOEFFER, CRAFT MULLER,
CONRAD BAUMGARTEN, JACOB DE PFORTZEIM

The North Corridor

Robert Reid's brilliantly colored paintings dominate the north wall and the ceiling. Reid's four circular panels on the north wall, from west to east, are titled WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING, KNOWLEDGE, and PHILOSOPHY. In the ceiling vault, the octagonal decorations represent the five senses: TASTE, SIGHT, SMELL, HEARING, and TOUCH. Alternating with the ceiling paintings are a series of rectangular panels by Frederic C. Martin that depict events in ancient sports. The scenes, from west to east in the ceiling, are of discus throwing, wrestling, running, the rub-down, victory, and the return home.

At the west end, Pompeiian panels depicting INDUSTRY and CONCORDIA by George Maynard flank the window, just as on the east side Maynard has pictured FORTITUDE and JUSTICE. The bas-reliefs in the vault above the west window are by Roland Hinton Perry. They represent the Sibyls, ancient prophetesses who interpreted omens, delivered oracles, and foretold the future. The sibyls portrayed here are the Greek Sybil and the Eastern, or Persian Sybil. In the first panel, the Greek Sybil is represented by the priestess of the world-renowned Oracle at Delphi. In the second panel, the face of the prophetess is veiled, signifying the occult wisdom of the East.

Above the west window is the quotation:

THE CHIEF GLORY OF EVERY PEOPLE ARISES FROM ITS AUTHORS
Johnson, Preface, A Dictionary of the English Language

Around the west window are five round tablets, two of which are ornamented with the obverse and reserve of the Great Seal of the United States. The other three carry the following quotations:

ORDER IS HEAVEN'S FIRST LAW
Pope, Essay on Man "Epistle," iv., 49

MEMORY IS THE TREASURER AND GUARDIAN OF ALL THINGS
Cicero, De Oratore, i., 5

BEAUTY IS THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE
Emerson, Essays, "The Poet"

Quotations on the golden wall tablets on the north wall, from west to east, are:

THERE IS ONE ONLY GOOD, NAMELY, KNOWLEDGE;
AND ONE ONLY EVIL, NAMELY IGNORANCE
Diogenes Laertius, Socrates, Sec. xiv.

KNOWLEDGE COMES, BUT WISDOM LINGERS
Tennyson, Locksley Hall, Stanza 72

WISDOM IS THE PRINCIPAL THING; THEREFORE GET WISDOM;
AND WITH ALL THY GETTING, GET UNDERSTANDING
Holy Bible, Proverbs 4:7

IGNORANCE IS THE CURSE OF GOD,
KNOWLEDGE THE WING WHEREWITH WE FLY TO HEAVEN
Shakespeare, Henry IV, pt. ii, Act iv., Sc. 7

HOW CHARMING IS DIVINE PHILOSOPHY!
Milton, Comus, 476

BOOKS MUST FOLLOW SCIENCES, AND NOT SCIENCES BOOKS
Bacon, Proposition Touching Amendment of Laws

IN BOOKS LIES THE SOUL OF THE WHOLE PAST TIME
Carlyle, On Heroes and Hero Worship, "The Hero as a Man of Letters"

WORDS ARE ALSO ACTIONS AND ACTIONS ARE A KIND OF WORDS
Emerson, Essays, "The Poet"

Between the windows on the golden tablet at the east end of the corridor is the quotation:

READING MAKETH A FULL MAN; CONFERENCE A READY MAN;
AND WRITING, AN EXACT MAN
Bacon, Essays, "Of Studies"

Excerpts from "Unexpressed," a poem by Adelaide Procter, are found on seven tablets on the north and south walls. On the south wall, reading from left to right, the verses are:

NO REAL POET EVER WOVE IN NUMBERS
ALL HIS DREAMS
LOVE AND LIFE UNITED
ARE TWIN MYSTERIES, DIFFERENT YET THE SAME
LOVE MAY STRIVE, BUT VAIN IS THE ENDEAVOR
ALL ITS BOUNDLESS RICHES TO EXPRESS
ART AND LOVE SPEAK AND THEIR WORDS MUST BE
LIKE SIGHINGS OF ILLIMITABLE FORESTS

On the north wall:

DWELLS WITHIN THE SOUL OF EVERY ARTIST
MORE THAN ALL HIS EFFORT CAN EXPRESS
NO GREAT THINKER EVER LIVED AND TAUGHT YOU
ALL THE WONDER THAT HIS SOUL RECEIVED
NO TRUE PAINTER SET ON CANVAS
ALL THE GLORIOUS VISION HE CONCEIVED
NO MUSICIAN
BUT BE SURE HE HEARD, AND STROVE TO RENDER,
FEEBLE ECHOES OF CELESTIAL STRAINS

Interspersed with the quotations from the poem "Unexpressed" are medallions representing different fields of knowledge and endeavor. On the south wall, from east to west, are NAVIGATION, MECHANICS, and TRANSPORATION; on the north wall, from west to east, are GEOMETRY, METEOROLOGY, and FORESTRY.

Printers' marks, or trade marks from printers and publishers, embellish the north and south walls. On the south wall, from east to west, the marks are for:

WILLIAM CAXTON; R. GRAFTON; VAUTROLLIER; JOHN DAY; W. JAGGARD; ARBUTHROT; A. HESTER; R. PYNSON.

On the north wall, from west to east, the marks are for these firms:

D. APPLETON; THE DEVINNE PRESS; CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS; HARPER AND BROTHERS; THE RIVERSIDE PRESS; THE CENTURY CO.; J.B. LIPPINCOTT CO.; DODD, MEAD AND CO.

THE SECOND FLOOR GALLERIES AND PAVILIONS

The Southwest Gallery (The Arts and the Sciences)

The paintings in the large lunettes at each end of the Southwest Gallery are by Kenyon Cox: The Sciences at the south end, and The Arts at the north end of the gallery.

Names of renowned artists and scientists are inscribed on tablets above the windows and the doors. Starting at the north entrance near The Arts and moving south, they are: WAGNER, HOMER, MICHELANGELO, RAPHAEL, RUBENS, MILTON, LEIBNITZ, DALTON, KEPLER, HERSCHEL, GALILEO, ARISTOTLE, PTOLEMY, HIPPARCHUS, LAMARCK, HELMHOLTZ, PHIDIAS, VITRUVIUS, BRAMANTE, and MOZART.

The monogram "CL" for Congressional Library is used as a decorative feature in the ceiling.

This photograph shows ornaments being prepared for installation in the second floor gallery ceilings. The "CL" stands for "Congressional Library," the name by which the Library of Congress was known at the turn of the century. The gilding of the rosettes (foreground) was another responsibility of Elmer E. Garnsey, who also supervised the setting of the tiles, the assembling of the mosaics, the color coordination, and the execution of the painted panels.

The Southwest Pavilion (The Discoverers)

The paintings in the lunettes and the disc in the domed ceiling are the work of George Willoughby Maynard. In the lunettes the sequence of Maynard's subjects begins on the east side and continues to the right, as follows: ADVENTURE, DISCOVERY, CONQUEST, CIVILIZATION. In the ceiling disc, the artist has depicted four qualities appropriate to these four stages of a country's development: COURAGE, VALOR, FORTITUDE, and ACHIEVEMENT.

The paintings in the lunettes include the names of illustrious discoverers and adventurers. They are, as follows:

East Lunette (Adventure)

          DRAKE               DIAZ
          CAVENDISH               NARVAEZ
          RALEIGH                 COELHO
          SMITH                   CABEZA
          FROBISHER               VERRAZANO
          GILBERT                 BASTIDAS

South Lunette (Discovery)

          SOLIS               CABOT
          ORELLANA                MAGELLAN
          VAN HORN                HUDSON
          OIEDA                   BEHRING
          COLUMBUS                VESPUCIUS
          PINZON                  BALBOA

West Lunette (Conquest)

          PIZARRO             CORTES
          ALVARADO                STANDISH
          ALMAGRO                 WINSLOW
          HUTTEN                  PHIPS
          FRONTENAC               VELASQUEZ              
          DE SOTO                 DE LEON

North Lunette (Civilization)

          ELIOT               PENN    
             CALVERT                 WINTHROP
          MARQUETTE               MOTOLINA
          JOLIET                  FRITZ
               OGLETHORPE              YEARDLEY
             LAS CASAS               LA SALLE

The wall tablets bear these words, beginning in the southwest corner and proceeding to the right:

ARTS, LETTERS, TOLERATION, SPAIN, ENTERPRISE, OPPORTUNITY, FORTUNE, PORTUGAL, INDIA, ELDORADO, AMERICA, FRANCE, EXPLORATION, DOMINION, COLONIZATION, ENGLAND

Circular plaques in relief, representing the Four Seasons, are in the four corners beneath the ceiling. The series, repeated in the other three second floor pavilions, is the work of Bela Lyon Pratt. Beginning in the corner and proceeding clockwise, Spring carries the label Seed, Summer is Bloom, Autumn is Fruit, and Winter is Decay.

The Northwest Gallery
(War and Peace)

The paintings in the large lunettes at each end of the Northwest Gallery are by Gari Melchers: Peace at the south end, and War at the north end of the gallery. Names of famous generals and admirals are on tablets above the windows and doors. Starting at the south entrance near Peace and moving north, they are: SHERIDAN, GRANT, SHERMAN, SCOTT, FARRAGUT, NELSON, WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, FREDERICK THE GREAT, EUGENE, MARLBOROUGH, WELLINGTON, WASHINGTON, CHARLES MARTEL, NAPOLEON, CAESAR, ALEXANDER, CYRUS, HANNIBAL, CHARLEMAGNE, and JACKSON.

The Northwest Pavilion
(Art and Science)

The paintings in the four lunettes and in the ceiling are by William de Leftwich Dodge. The subjects in the lunettes, clockwise from the west, are LITERATURE, MUSIC, SCIENCE, and ART. Ambition, considered the instigator of all human effort, is the subject of the ceiling painting.

Small circular reliefs representing the Four Seasons, executed by Bela Lyon Pratt, are in the four corners beneath the ceiling. The names of the seasons are listed below the paintings.

Wall plaques, clockwise from the northwest corner, bear the names: MUSIC, Venice, Berlin, Paris, SCIENCE, Babylon, Tyre, Carthage, ART, Thebes, Athens, Rhodes, LITERATURE, Greece, Italy, England.

The North Gallery
(Learning)

The stained glass ceiling panels in the North Gallery contain the names of renowned painters, sculptors, musicians, scientists, theologians, physicians, and jurists. Designed in square panels, each section contains four inscribed tablets with the monogram LC in the center. "Learning" is inscribed in the central panel.

Beginning at the west end, the names are: HOLBEIN, VAN DYCK, RUBENS, MURILLO; REMBRANDT, THORWALDSEN, DURER, PALISSY; CORREGGIO, TITIAN, RAPHAEL, GUIDO RENI; PERUGINO, DA VINCI, APELLES, GIOTTO; PHIDIAS, LISZT, BACH, WAGNER; HAYDEN, MENDELSSOHN, FARADAY, MOZART; AGASSIZ, DARWIN, COPERNICUS, HUMBOLDT; PLINY, EUCLID, CHANNING, PYTHAGORAS; EDWARDS, BOSSUET, ST. BERNARD, PASCAL; CHRYSOSTOM, ST. AUGUSTINE, HAHNEMANN, BOWDITCH; JENNER, HARVEY, AVICENNA, PARACELSUS; HIPPOCRATES, MARSHALL, MONTESQUIEU, STORY; BLACKSTONE, COKE, LYCURGUS, JUSTINIAN.

The Northeast Pavilion
(Government)

The disc in the domed ceiling, designed by Elmer Ellsworth Garnsey, shows the Great Seal of the United States surrounded by allegorical emblems and objects that represent the North, South, East, and West sections of the country. Bordering the disc is a narrow blue band that is inscribed:

THAT THIS NATION, UNDER GOD, SHALL HAVE A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM; THAT GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, SHALL NOT PERISH FROM THE EARTH

Abraham Lincoln, The Gettysburg Address
Gettysburg, Pa., November 19, 1863

The paintings in the lunettes, done by William Brantley Van Ingen, illustrate the seals of various executive departments of the United States Government. Each painting is devoted to two departments. A circular tablet divides the two parts, upon which are quotations from famous Americans.

West Lunette (State and Treasury Departments)
'TIS OUR TRUE POLICY TO STEER CLEAR OF PERMANENT ALLIANCE
WITH ANY PORTION OF THE FOREIGN WORLD
George Washington, Farewell Address, September 19, 1796

LET OUR OBJECT BE OUR COUNTRY, OUR WHOLE COUNTRY,
AND NOTHING BUT OUR COUNTRY
Daniel Webster, Address at Charlestown, Mass., June 17, 1825.
Cornerstone Ceremonies for Bunker Hill Monument.

THANK GOD, I ALSO AM AN AMERICAN!
Daniel Webster, Address at Charlestown, Mass., June 17, 1843.
Dedication of Bunker Hill Monument.

North Lunette (Justice and Post Office Departments)
EQUAL AND EXACT JUSTICE TO ALL MEN, OF WHATEVER STATE
OR PERSUASION, RELIGIOUS OR POLITICAL: PEACE, COMMERCE, AND HONEST
FRIENDSHIP WITH ALL NATIONS-ENTANGLING ALLIANCE WITH NONE
Thomas Jefferson, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1801

East Lunette (Agriculture and Interior Department)
THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST OF THE COUNTRY IS CONNECTED
WITH EVERY OTHER, AND SUPERIOR IN IMPORTANCE TO THEM ALL
Andrew Jackson, Message to Congress, December 8, 1829

LET US HAVE PEACE
U.S. Grant, Letter accepting nomination to the Presidency, May 29, 1868.

South Lunette (War and Navy Department)
THE AGGREGATE HAPPINESS OF SOCIETY IS, OR OUGHT TO BE,
THE END OF ALL GOVERNMENT
George Washington, Political Maxims

TO BE PREPARED FOR WAR IS ONE OF THE MOST EFFECTIVE
MEANS OF PRESERVING PEACE
George Washington, Speech to Congress, January 8, 1790.

Small circular reliefs representing the Four Seasons, executed by Bela Lyon Pratt, are in the four corners beneath the ceiling. The names of the seasons are beneath the paintings.

The Northeast Gallery (Building)

The stained glass ceiling panels in the Northeast Gallery contain the names of famous engineers and architects. "Building" is inscribed in the central panel. Beginning at the north end, the names are: BARNARD, SCHWEDLER, EADS, ROEBLING; JARVIS, VAUBAN, SMEATON, LAVALLY; STEPHENSON, ARCHIMEDES, RICHARDSON, HUNT; WALTER, BULFINCH, MANSARD, WREN, JONES; LABROUSTE, LESCOT, DUC, MICHELANGELO, DELORME; BRUNELLESCHI, SANSOVINO, VIGNOLA, BRAMANTE; PALLADIO, VITRUVIUS; ICTINUS, ANTHEMIUS.

The Rare Book and Special Collections Division Reading Room

The Bronze Doors

Left-hand door

Top panel: device of Johann Fust and Peter Schoeffer
Middle panel: emblem of Geoffroy Tory
Bottom panel: printers' mark of William Morris

Right-hand door

Top panel: names of Juan Cromberger and Juan Pablos
Center panel: names of Stephen Daye, William Nuthead, William Bradford
Bottom panel: Bruce Rogers' printing device

The history of printing, one of the Jefferson Building's principal themes, is elaborately represented on the beautiful bronze doors of the Rare Book and Special Collections Division on the Jefferson Building's second floor. Printing in Europe is depicted on the door on the left, and printing in the New World on the right.

The Rosenwald Room

The Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection of illustrated books, housed in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, is one of the Library's greatest treasures. This room is modeled after Mr. Rosenwald's private gallery, the Alverthorpe Gallery in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. Here he housed his collection of rare manuscripts and illustrated books, bequeathed to the Library of Congress in 1943. The bust of Orpheus on the wall is a full- size cast iron model of the head of the Orpheus Fountain in Stockholm. The sculptor is Carl Milles.

The Hispanic Room

The Hispanic Society Reading Room occupies the Southeast Gallery, which was originally dedicated to "Invention," and contained the names of twenty-nine famous inventors from around the world. The stained glass ceiling, with "Invention" inscribed in the central panel, and the names are no longer visible because of the 1938 conversion of the gallery into the Hispanic Society Reading Room. Beginning at the north end, the names are: BELL, WESTINGHOUSE, BESSEMER, EDISON, HOWE, HOE, ERICSSON, McMORMICK, GOODYEAR, WHITNEY, WHEATSTONE, MORSE, VAIL, WOOD, FITCH, JACQUARD, FULTON, ARKWRIGHT, HARGREAVES, CORLISS, TREVITHICK, NEWCOMEN, COOPER, WATT, STEVENS, MONTGOLFIER, DAGUERRE, GUTENBERG, SCHWARTZ.

In 1938, with the support of Archer M. Huntington, the room was converted into the reading room of the Hispanic Society. It was designed by Paul Phillippe Cret, the same architect who built both the Folger Shakespeare Library (across the street) and the Federal Reserve Building. In the northern vestibule are murals painted in 1941 by the Brazilian artist Candido Portinari; they depict "Discovery of the Land," "Entry into the Forest," "Teaching of the Indians," and "Mining of Gold." In the central hall on the east wall over the windows are the names of eminent Hispanic literary figures: CERVANTES, CUERVO, PALMA, GONÇALVES, DIAS, MONTALVO, RODÓ, HEREDIA. On the west wall: GARCÍA ICAZBALCETA, SARMIENTO, HOSTOS, DARIO, BELLO, MEDINA, CAMOES. On the south wall is a colorful mural on steel that depicts the coat of arms of Columbus. Above the shield are the words "Por Castilla y por León" (For Castille and for León); below it, "Nuevo mundo halló Colón" (For Columbus found a new world"). Beneath the mural is a marble tablet containing the following inscription:

THE HISPANIC FOUNDATION IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS THIS CENTER FOR THE PURSUIT OF STUDIES IN SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, AND LATIN AMERICAN CULTURE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED WITH THE GENEROUS COOPERATION OF THE HISPANIC SOCIETY OF AMERICA IN EXTENSION OF ITS SERVICE TO LEARNING.

The Southeast Pavilion (The Elements)

The paintings in the four lunettes are by Robert L. Dodge and represent, clockwise from the north, AIR, EARTH, WATER, and FIRE. The ceiling disc, by Elmer E. Garnsey, represents the Sun, which is surrounded by medallions and cartouches that depict the four elements.

Small circular reliefs representing the Four Seasons, executed by Bela Lyon Pratt, are in the four corners beneath the ceiling. Such reliefs are in each of the four second floor pavilions, but the Latin instead of the English titles are used exclusively in this pavilion: Hiems or Winter, Auctumnus or Autumn, Aestas or Summer, and Ver or Spring.

Wall tablets, clockwise from the northeast corner, bear the names: AIR, Hermes, Zeus, and Iris; EARTH, Demeter, Hera, and Dionysus; WATER, Proteus, Galatea, and Poseidon; and FIRE, Hestia, Hephaistos, and Prometheus.

The South Gallery (Liberty)

The stained glass ceiling panels in the South Gallery contain the names of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. "Liberty" is inscribed in the central panel. Beginning at the east end, the names are:

     HANCOCK            CLYMER          GWINNETT
     GERRY               TAYLOR              HALL
     ADAMS               SMITH               BARTLETT
     PAINE/ADAMS         RODNEY              WALTON
     CHASE               READ                ELLERY
     CARROLL             STOCKTON            WHIPPLE
     MCKEAN              HOPKINS             THORNTON
     STONE               CLARK               HOPPER
     PACA                WITHERSPOON         HEWES
     MORRIS              HART                WYTHE
     FLOYD               HOPKINSON           LEE
     LEWIS               MIDDLETON           PENN
     LIVINGSTON          RUTLEDGE            BRAXTON
     MORTON              LYNCH               JEFFERSON
     MORRIS              HEYWARD             NELSON
     FRANKLIN            WOLCOTT             LEE
     RUSH                SHERMAN             HARRISON
     ROSS                WILLIAMS
     WILSON              HUNTINGTON

TABLE OF CONTENTS - Introduction - A Brief History of the Library of Congress
The Thomas Jefferson Building - The John Adams Building - The James Madison Memorial Building
Author's Note and Acknowledgements - Further Reading - Concordance of Images