Evening star., 1938-06-20
LEGENDS TRACED
0NBRONzE DOORS
Library Of Congress Annex
Portals Depict Story of
Written Word.
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.

Written Word.
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.
Seven pairs of bronze doors have
been added to the Library Of Congress
Annex. They I'LL an equal number of
entrances to the new building, each
approximately 10 feet high by 6 feet
wide. Three on the west and three on
the east side of the white marble
structure pay homage to the legendary
inventors of the several alphabets en-
ployed in the art of writing, and one
on the south end. allocated to the
Copyright ONCE. is ornamented with
the seal Of the United States, the seal
of the Library. human figure SYM
bolizing physical labor and a similar
figure typifying intellectual labor-the
former a man, the latter a woman.
Executed by the Flower City Orna-
mental Iron Co., Minneapolis, the
doors were designed by Lee Lawrie,
New York sculptor, under the direc-
ton of David Lynn. architect OF the
Capitol; Pierson & Wilson. consulting
architects, and Alexander B. Trow-
bridge, consultant. The themes for
the alphabet sequence were sug-
gested by DR.. william Adams Slade
chief reference librarian, and approved
by DR.. Herbert Putnam, librarian of
Congress.
On both the east front and the west
two doors are identical, each showing
six figures. as follows:
l. Thoth, depicted with the head Of
an ibis, was the representative Of di-
vine wisdom and the amanuensis of
all the gods in the theology Of ancient
Egypt. According to tradition in the
Nile Valley. he conferred upon man
kind political economy as well as
speech and the graphic arts.
Had Four Eyes.
2. Ts'ang Chieh. according to leg
end possessor Of four eyes, is declared
to have conceived the idea OF a written
language for the people Of China from
the markings of birds claws upon the
sands of the seashore. With Chu Sung
he still is worshiped as \ patron saint
OF Photographic letters
g. Nabu, the Sumero- -Accadian god
of the stylus, was perhaps the founder
of the first institutional library. He
is credited by Ashurbanapal of As
syria with having advised him to COL
lect the written records of his coun-
try. Two of his statues from MINI
rud are in the British Museum in
London
knowledge Of Letters.
a. Brahma, the supreme god of
the East Indian trinity" gave knowl-
edge of letters to the human race
and inscribed the texts of the Veda
on leaves of gold. His handwriting.
it is suggested, may be seen in the
serrated sutures of mems skulls, II
not elswehere.
5. Cadmus. with the Phoenicians,
brought to Greece "a great variety of
arts among the rest that of writ
ings." His Characters. Herodotus af-
f1rmed, were to be viewed in the Tenn
pie of Apollo Ismenias in Boeotian
Thebes, most of them shaped like
the Ionian"
6. Tahmurath, culture hero of Aryan
antiquity, is reported in the Persian
epic "Shahnama." as having con-
quered demons and forced them to
teach him some 80 scripts - and
thus delineate sounds"
The central door of each series OF
three on the west as on the east
side Of the annex is adorned with fig-
ures in tribute to-
7. Hermes, messenger of the Olym-
plan deities Of the Greeks, invented
astronomy, music, the art of fighting,
gymnastics, the cultivation of the
olive tree, measures, weights and
many other things" including the
alphabet and numbers. His Roman
name was Mercury, and he appears
with wings on his feet.
Discoverer Of Runes.
8. Odin, discoverer of the runes
in the Havamal of the
Poetic Edda." is the Morse origin
ator of the science of written COM
He looked downward"
from the 'wind-stirred tree" Yggdra-
sill, and, seeing the symbols, fell to
the ground"
9. Ogma, one of the Tuatha De
Danann, was the Irish inventor Of
letters, designer of the alphabet which
still carries his name. He is called
the god of "the Shining Countenance"
in the mythology of prehistoric, Fire.
10. Itzamna, chief of the Maya
is referred to as 'LAkin
chan" or The Serpent Of the East"
and the creator of men, animals and
plants as well as inventor of writing
and books. His country was Yucatan,
where ''he divided the land among the
people"
II. Quetzalcoatl, most famous and
picturesque of New World mythic
figures" was the source of Aztec cul-
ture. Some writer's think he really
lived in ancient Mexico, perhaps the
most remarkable" personality in the
Of primitive America.
Sequoyah of Indiana.
IL. Sequoyah, sometimes called the
ablest intelligence produced among the
WLHf II Ynur