The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1933-06-30

nave received most OF our VISUAL
impressions not only of what took place in In
dependence hall in Philadelphia on July 4,
1776, but Of many of the other great events in
the American Revolution.
short time ago Yale university commemorate
ed the centenary Of the opening of the oldest
art gallery in this country connected with a
college. The founder of that art gallery, the
architect Of the original building was this same
John Trumbull, whose body lies in a vault be-
meath the fine arts building which has succeed
ed the simple little structure which he designed
and which housed the original collection of his
canvasses that have since become so famous.
The commemorative ceremonies, which consist
ed principally of showing again all of the Trum-
bull collection of paintings they had once
been displayed in the vanished building which
he designed, not only served to honor the
painter of Americas epic" but it emphasized
once more the part which this university has
played in the visual education" of Americans
in the history of their country.
1t recalled once more an ambitious project
of that institution in this educational field, be-
gun more than decade ago and, appropriately
enough, brought to a triumphant conclusion
during the year in which the sesqui-c centennial
of American independence was being celebrat-
ed That was the publication of 1.-THE Pageant
of America" a 15-yolume pictorial history Of
our country which has worked something of
IcfOluIlOH III uSLuOuS VI presenting anu
studying American history"
The idea for such project took form while
the Yale University Press, which had just COM
pleted publication of another notable historical
series, 1.-The Chronicles of America" was ex-
perimenting with the presentation of the drama
of American history through the medium of
moving pictures. The result of this experiment
was the outlining of plan for a pictorial
chronicle of America" in book form.
Tharo hau haon toto r;oID h;cto Of
America but the majority of them have been
comparatively valueess because 'the pictures
have often been excuse to weaken the text,
and the text has been excuse to pass off
hackneyed deceptive pictures on the confd-
ing reader" Go the problem of the Yale au-
thorities was not only to avoid a repetition of
the errors which had given pictorial history
bad repute but also to prepare combination of
pictures and text which would be scholarly
enough to satisfy the most exactng scientific
historian" and lively and interesting enough to
meet the demands of popular appeal" without
sacrificing anything of accuracy and anthem
ITCHY.
To do this they summoned to their aid Prof
Ralph Henry Gabriel, professor of American his
tory at Yale, and under his direction there was
outlined the plan for 10 volumes dealing with
the multifarious activities of the American peo-
pie since the first Europeans touched this CONT
nent. The narrative of all these activities was
to be presented principally through pictures
with just enough text accompanying them to
indicate the source of the pictures, their his
torical value and their general significance in
the whole sweep of the series.
The next step was to select the writer's, each
authority in his field, to provide the descrip-
tive and explanatory paragraphs for the pictures
and to write them in such manner as would
carry along the smoothly flowing written narra-
tive which was to supplement the pictorial mar
rative and remain subordinate to it. Suffice It
to say that such writer's were secured and that
their success in carrying out the ambitious prof.
ect Of the Yale authorities was such as to win
universal commentator from historians, liter
airy critics and all others before whose eyes they
had thus unrolled the colorful pageantry of the
story of American expansion from a colonial out
post to world empire.