Category: History - American
Produced by Donald Cummings, Adrian Mastronardi, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
Produced by Donald Cummings, Adrian Mastronardi, John Campbell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously...
2. Part 2The first act of Congress providing for the construction of the building was approved April 15, 1886. Its terms adopted the plan submitted by Mr. John L. Smithmeyer; created a c...
3. Part 3In preparing the models, accuracy was the chief thing considered. Any attempt at dramatic or picturesque effect, except what was natural to the type portrayed, was felt to be ou...
4. Part 4=Mr. Martiny’s Staircase Figures.=--The spandrels in the first story are unusually delicate and pretty. The design comprises wreaths of roses and oak and laurel leaves, with oak...
5. Part 5=The Librarian’s Room.=--The Librarian’s Room is one of the most beautifully finished of any in the Library. It is divided into two by a broad, open arch, leaving the office pro...
6. Part 6=Mr. Shirlaw’s Paintings.=--The subjects of Mr. Shirlaw’s figures in the vault of the West Corridor are, on the west, beginning at the left: _Zoölogy_, _Physics_, _Mathematics_,...
7. Part 7Each figure is shown with certain characteristic attributes. In the case of _Industry_, _Courage_, and _Patriotism_, Mr. Maynard has himself selected these attributes; in the ot...
8. Part 8The engaged columns, however, join with the piers to carry an elaborate entablature some seven feet in height, which, finding its way in and out of the alcoves from pier to pier...
9. Part 9It may be of interest to the visitor to learn that one of the most novel and ingenious pieces of engineering connected with the construction of the Library was a so-called “trav...
10. Part 10=Connection with the Capitol.=--It is calculated that, by means of the pneumatic tubes and the book-carrying apparatus, it will require no more than six or seven minutes to brin...
11. Part 11=Mr. Pratt’s Bas-Reliefs.=--In the pendentives is a series of four large circular plaques in relief, representing _The Seasons_. The series, which is repeated in each of the oth...
12. Part 12=Mr. Garnsey’s Ceiling Painting.=--The disc of the dome contains one of the most interesting and ingeniously arranged of the purely conventional decorations which ornament the L...
13. Part 13The mosaic at the north end of the room represents _Law_, typified by a young and beautiful woman seated on a massive marble throne and holding in one hand a sword with which to...
14. Part 14Mr. Macmonnies’s door is very noble, with increased richness and emphasis in the lunette. In thus giving a sense of greater elevation and dignity by lifting the eye upwards, it...
15. Part 15Mr. Simmons’s _Muses_ exhibit a certain restless power, tempered by the sensibility of drawing and color. The first impression is of a vivid blue or red spot. The note is at onc...
16. Part 16The suggestion has been made that one of the two copies of books received by copyright might be utilized for the purposes of circulation. This is conclusively met by the fact th...