Washington, DC 6/10/14

We didn't ride our...

...to the local Washington Metro stop.

Our first visit was to the...

We saw a copy of the Gutenberg Bible, the first book printed with moveable type in c 1455.  This copy of the Bible was in the possession of Benedictine Monks for five centuries in a monastery in Austria until it was purchased by an act of Congress in 1930.

A detail from the Mainz Bible (c 1452), one of the last bibles inscribed and illuminated by hand.

The Reading Room of the Library of Congress.

The Heujotzingo Codex, Mexico, 1531.  Native artists produced this Codex as part of a lawsuit brought by the indigenous people of Heujotzingo, Mexico, on behalf of the Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes.  Cortes sued the judges of the Mexico City court for demanding excessive tribute payments from the Indians under their jurisdiction, and Cortes et al won an unprecedented victory in court.  The Codex illustrates what scholars believe is the earliest image of the Madonna and Child created by natives in the New World.

 

A page from the Description of the Ruins of an Ancient City, Discovered Near Palenque... by Anotonio del Rio (c 1786).  Del Rio was a Spanish artillery captain who led an expedition to examine the Maya ruins of Palenque, and subsequently published an illustrated report.  The report and drawings emphasized the descriptions of plazas, structures, tablets, and sculptures.  This book, and others like it, were wildly popular in Europe.

During lunch we were serenaded by singing librarians who were hyping an upcoming concert at the Library.

The exterior of the rotunda of the Library of Congress

After lunch we strolled by the Supreme Court...

...watched a bomb-sniffing dog at work,...

...and stopped in the office of our Congressman, Bill Foster.

A member of the Congressman's staff took us on a tour of...

A capital from a column in the Old Senate chamber.  As President, Thomas Jefferson wanted the chamber decorated with symbols unique to America--thus, corn.

The chair of the President of the Senate in the Old Senate chamber.

The old Supreme Court chamber, which was originally housed in the Capitol building.

A statue of Po-pay, the leader of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 which started in Taos, New Mexico and resulted in the banishment of the Spanish from the southwestern US.  They later returned with a vengeance.



We ended our first day in Washington by relaxing in the Summerhouse on the Capitol grounds.  The Summerhouse was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and built c 1879.

LIFE TIP: