Sign Language Directions

Gallery Place Metro, November 2009. Earlier this week I noticed an unusual ASL (American Sign Language) inscription on the top of this mural: the letters for "U" and "P." The arrows on either side point toward the exits, directing the viewer "up" out of the station. But why use sign language here?

LOC Printers' Marks, Latin and Greek Mottos

Library of Congress, November 2009. Two early printers' marks painted on the ceiling of the Jefferson Building.

On the left, D. Appleton & Co. (note D A & CO on the shield). The Latin inscription in the ribbon reads INTER FOLIA FRUCTUS (fruit among the leaves) = e.g., the  "leaves" (i.e., pages of book) yield "fruit" (knowledge).

On the right, the De Vinne Press. The Greek inscription is a citation from "Prometheus Bound" (Προμηθεύς δεσμώτης), a tragedy by Aeschylus (Αἰσχύλος):

καὶ μὴν ἀριθμόν, ἔξοχον σοφισμάτων,
ἐξηῦρον αὐτοῖς γραμμάτων τε συνθέσεις,
μνήμην ἁπάντων, μουσομήτορ᾽ ἐργάνην. (Fragment β' lines 459-61)

[Prometheus speaks here: "Yes, and numbers, too, chiefest of sciences, I invented for them (humans), and the combining of letters, creative mother of the Muses' arts, with which to hold all things in memory."]

If you're interested, you can take a look at the original Greek text and an English translation.

LOC Printer's Mark Display

Library of Congress, November 2009. A snazzy interactive computer display allows the visitor to view another early printer's mark. Note the stylized "R" for the name Rosenbach.

For more on this particular mark, see this page on the LOC website.

LOC Printer's Mark, Caxton

Library of Congress, November 2009. A rarely-noticed ceiling motif in the ceiling of the Jefferson Building is its sequence of early printers' marks. These symbols were in some respects precursors to modern corporate trademarks or logos, but they could also evoke heraldic devices. Here's the late 15th-century mark of William Caxton, the first English printer (note the stylized W and C).

For more on the symbolism of printers' marks, see this section of the LOC website or the subsequent posts.

Shaw: Slum Historique

Shaw (9th between Q and Rhode Island NW), early 2007. In mid-2007 somebody painted over the words "slum historique" on this (in)famous mural.

Strangely, the unflattering French along the other side of the building was kept untouched: "blvd. de rêves blessés" (blvd. of wounded dreams) and le café "putain qui pue" (stinking prostitute café).

I hear a "real" restaurant is going to be moving into that space.