Tag Umbrella

Encyclopædia Heibonsha (1984)

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General Details

Title: 平凡社　大百科辞典 (Great Encylopædia Heibonsha)
Volumes: 16
Language: Japanese
Publisher: 平凡社 (Heibonsha)
Year: 1984
Pages: 21,164

The 大百科辞典 (dai hyakka jiten), or Great Encyclopedia, was released in 1984 in 16 volumes. Unlike the other editions of the Heibonsha encyclopedia released before and after it (most named 世界大百科辞典 - sekai dai hyakka jiten, or World Great Encyclopedia), this one is monochrome and takes up far fewer volumes. The preceding edition, published in 1972 in 35 hardcover volumes (and reprinted again in 1975 in paperback), featured color plate pages and atlas volumes, but was essentially a revision of the 1964 edition, which itself was a revision of the 1955 edition. The Heibonsha was feeling a lot of pressure in the mid-1970s from competing encyclopedias, and so a total reworking of the encyclopedia was called for and this edition was released. Three years later, in 1988, it would be released again as 世界大百科辞典, or World Great Encyclopedia, in 35 volumes; this was the same text as the 1984 version, but now with more illustrations, color plates, an atlas, etc. According to Sekiguchi Hideki, an executive from Heibonsha, they just didn't manage to get color plates into the 1984 edition, a point of embarrassment, due to the intense time pressure they were under to release a new encyclopedia (最後の〈紙〉の百科『世界大百科事典』, "The Last Paper 'World Great Encyclopedia'", accessed Oct 3, 2019).

That said, I love this encyclopedia. I wish my Japanese level was higher so that I could spend more time reading it. It is extremely thorough, as you will see in the sample articles (provided with translation). The text, presented in three columns on each page, can be a bit small sometimes. The pictures, diagrams, and charts are all extremely clear and well-done. The binding is really beautiful - as you run your eyes along the bottom of the golden spines of the books, you see a man run, jump, and transform into a bird lifting off into the sky. Except for strictly Japanese topics, most entries feature a keyword in English, German, or whatever the appropriate foreign language may be; some feature more than one foreign translation. I am reminded a bit of the Encyclopedia Americana - like that work, this one features entries on important works, novels, movies, etc. For example, one can find an entry on 精神分析入門, or, as is also given in the entry header, Vorlesungen zur Einführung in die Psychoanalyse - in other words, this is a brief entry on Sigmund Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis.

The first volume includes a brief introduction on why a new edition of the encyclopedia was called for and a note on the methodology in choosing the entries, organization, language use, etc. There is then a list of the main editors. Following this is a guide to using the encyclopedia, including notes on alphabetization (the entries are arranged in aiueo-order), how foreign names and words fit into this, and a guide to abbreviations. A condensed version of this guide appears in each of the other volumes. Volumes 1 through 15 constitute the main text of the encyclopedia; volume 16 is the index volume. The index volume contains both a comprehensive index of terms in Japanese, arranged in the standard aiueo-order, as well as an index of foreign keywords, names, and scientific terms arranged in ABC order. Each has a separate set of page numbers. If I wanted to look up Michael Ende, for example, I would find エンデ、M. listed on page 129 in the Japanese index, and I would similarly find Ende, M. on page 96 of the ABC index; both would direct me to the left-hand column on page 1018 in volume 6 (part of the entry on 児童文学, "children's literature"). The index volume also contains the full list of contributors (the preface in volume one claims there are 7000 contributors), illustrators, and image sources.

Sample Entries

I attempt to look up "umbrella" and "Saint Louis" in every reference work I feature on this site, to provide a source of fair comparison between them. I have to take back what I said about Johnson's Universal having the most thorough entry on umbrellas; the Encylopædia Heibonsha beats it soundly. The fact that the umbrella originated in Asia has been mentioned in a number of the works reviewed on this site, so the fact that Japan has been exposed to the umbrella longer than Europe and America may partially explain the difference in the levels of attention it receives in their respective reference works. While translating the article, I googled some statistics on umbrella sales. I read in one place that 33 million umbrellas are sold in the United States per year, and I read elsewhere that 120 million are sold in Japan annually. When you consider that annual consumption per-capita ratio (~10% in the USA versus ~95% in Japan), that may also explain why an entry on the umbrella would be more detailed in a Japanese encyclopedia versus an American one. The main entry on "umbrella" (傘, kasa) can be found in volume 3, on pages 214-215. I have a loose translation afterwards; apologies in advance for the 3rd paragraph ("There are many theories...") - I had trouble with the etymology section:

かさ　　傘

雨や日ざしを避けるため頭上にかざすもの。直接あたまにかぶる笠と区別するため〈さしがさ〉ともいう。しかし、傘と笠は関係深く、さらに、仏像の上に懸垂される‣天蓋や、宮廷の儀式に用いた〈きぬかさ〉とも共通する面がある。

中国の神話によれば、黄帝が戦いの際、五色の雲が花の形になって頭上にとどまったとき戦況が一変し勝利を得たので、これにちなんで華蓋をつくり、以後つねにかざしたという。華蓋は実際に国王や貴族の外出の際の日よけとして用いられたもので、日本では〈きぬかさ〉と読ませている (《和名抄》) 。大きな笠に柄をつけて手にもつようにしたものが簦で、《和名抄》では〈おほかさ〉としている。日本では《万葉集》に蓋きぬかさの語があり、《宇津保物語》《枕草子》《更級日記》などに〈からかさ〉の語が出てくる。

からかさ (唐傘) については、①唐・ 韓からから伝来したもの (《類聚名物考》) 、② 柄笠 (傘) の語があり、柄の字を〈から〉と読む (《貞丈雑記》) 、③さっと開いて、さすのが奇なるゆえ (《俚言集覧》) 、④からくりの〈から〉と同じくろくろ細工の意あるいは軽いの意 (《俗語考》) 、というような説がある。文献では、唐傘、韓笠、簦、雨繖、油傘、笠傘、雨傘、竪笠、傘の字をからかさと読んでいる。繖はきぬかさ、つまり布を張ったかさをさすが、紙張りのかさも古くからあり、字音が同じ傘 (サン) と区別はない。いずれにしても、古い時代の〈かさ〉がどんなものかは明確ではない。英語では傘をアンブレラ umbrella というが、これは〈影〉を意味するラテン語 umbra が語源であり、フランス語では日傘をパラソル parasol ( para はよけるの意。太陽をよける) 、雨傘をパラプリュい parapluie (雨をよける) という。

[歴史]　古代オリエントの彫刻や絵画には権力者の頭上に傘をさしかけている場面があるが、これは権威を象徴している。古代ギリシア・ローマでも傘は見られるが、いずれも日よけが主で、婦人用であった。開閉できる傘は１３世紀にイタリアでつくられたという。雨傘が使われたのは17世紀ころからで、18世紀イギリスの商人で慈善事業家のハンウェーJonas Hanway (1712-86)が1778年に雨傘をさしてロンドン市街を歩き、その大胆さに人々は驚いたと言い伝えられている。当時の傘の骨はクジラの骨であったが、1820年代に鋼鉄の骨がつくられ、52年にS.フォックスによってU字形の溝のついた骨が開発され、骨が細く、軽くて使いよい傘が普及するようになった。

《日本書紀》によれば、日本には552年（欽明13)百済の聖明王の寄進によって初めて蓋伝えられた。絹張りの大型の傘で貴人にさしかけるものであった。みずから手に持つ傘は1594年（文禄3）堺の商人納屋助左衛門がルソン（呂宋）より伝えたといわれる。これが一般に普及しはじめるのは江戸時代になってからで、とくに女子は頭に直接かぶる笠が髪型を乱すことから傘がもてはやされるようになった。貞享・元禄（1684ー1704）のころには長柄傘、‣蛇の目傘、正徳（1711ー16）のころには大黒屋傘、享保（1716ー36）のころには紅葉傘、渋蛇の目傘が流行した。粗末なつくりのものを‣番傘と呼んで、気軽に用いだ。一方日傘も文禄（1592ー96）のころから盛んに用いられ、延宝から貞享（1673ー88）にかけて絵日傘が流行した。こうして傘が普及すると、古傘買い、あるいは古骨買いといって、紙が割れて役に立たなくなった傘を買い集める商人も出現した。江戸では買取りであったが、京阪では土瓶や土製の人形との交換が主であった。古骨は古骨屋が洗い、修理して傘屋におろし、張替傘として再生された。洋傘は1859年（安政6）にイギリスの商人により伝えられ、明治に入ると‣こうもり傘と呼ばれ文明開化の象徴として用いられるようになり、明治10年代には一般化した。

[現代の傘]　第2次大戦後、洋傘の開発はめざましく、1949年にはアメリカから輸入されたビニルフィルムを用いたビニル傘が売り出され、爆発的人気を得た。53年にはナイロン洋傘地の国産化、54年にはスプリング式折りたたみ傘の開発で、ナイロン生地を用いた折りたたみ傘の全盛時代に入っていった。また、自動車の乗り降りの際片手で操作できるようにくふうされたジャンプ傘は58年に試作され、61年に一般化、現在紳士物の長傘の70～80％を占めている。72年ころには有名デザイナーブランドの洋傘が登場した。洋傘のサイズは親骨の長さで表し、かつては紳士物63ー66cm、婦人物55cm、骨数10～12本だったが、その後軽量化が進み、紳士物60cm、婦人物50cm、骨数8～10本のものが多くなった。しかし最近は大型のものも好まれている。和傘は1936ー41年にかけてが生産のピークで年間約3500万本、洋傘の3～6倍の生産量があった。その後、戦争をはさんで49ー50年には再び3500万本近く生産され、うち約1500万本は、寛永（1624ー44）のころからの歴史をもつ岐阜市加納町でつくられた。しかしその後は和傘の生産量は激減している。現在の洋傘の国内需要は、輸入品も含めて年間6500万本である。

菊田隆

Umbrella 傘

A thing held aloft over the head to avoid contact with the sun and rain. It is also called 'sashigasa' to distinguish from the 'kasa' (umbrella-hat: 笠) worn directly on the head. However, 傘 and 笠 are closely related, and their form is also shared with the 'kinukasa,' a canopy hung over Buddha statues and used in imperial court ceremonies.

According to Chinese legend, while the Yellow Emperor was engaged in battle, clouds of five colors formed into the shape of a flower and remained overhead, at which time the tide of the battle changed and the Emperor was victorious; because of this, canopies (華蓋, "flower-covers") were created and continuously held aloft from then on. This "flower-cover" canopy was actually used by kings and the aristocracy as a sunshade when they would go out, and is given the reading of 'kinukasa' for Japan in the "Wamyō Ruijushō". In the "Wamyō Ruijushō," the 簦, 'ohokasa', is defined as a large object carried in the hand which is a large umbrella-hat (笠) attached to a handle. In the Japanese "Man'yōshū," the word '蓋' (kinukasa) appears, and the word 'karakasa' can be found in "Utsubo Monogatari," "The Pillow Book," "Sarashina Nikki," etc.

There are many theories around the origin of the 'kara' in 'karakasa,' [唐傘 - the traditional paper umbrella]: ① it is handed down from China/Korea (kara) ["類聚名物考"], ② there is the word 柄笠 and the character 柄 can be read 'kara' ["貞丈雑記"], ③ because it is strange holding it up when it opens suddenly ["俚言集覧"], ④ the 'kara' is the same as in 'karakuri' and either means a wheel device or lightweight ["俗語考"]. The following characters are found in historical literature and can all be read as 'karakasa:' 唐傘、韓笠、簦、雨繖、油傘、笠傘、雨傘、and 竪笠. 繖 refers to the 'kinukasa' - in other words, a held-up umbrella with cloth affixed. The paper-affixed umbrella is similarly old, and there is no distinction in the character 傘 ('san') with the same Japanese pronunciation. In any case, it is not clear which of these the term 'kasa' referred to in the ancient era. In English it is called "umbrella," which has the meaning of "shade" in the Latin origin "umbra." In French, a sunshade is called "parasol" - "para" means "to avoid." It means to avoid the sun, and "parapluie" means to avoid the rain.

[History] There are instances in ancient oriental sculpture and paintings where powerful people are depicted with umbrellas being held overhead; this symbolizes authority. Umbrellas can be seen in ancient Greece and Rome, but they were for use by women mainly as a sunshade. Umbrellas that could open and close were made in Italy in the 13th century. Rain umbrellas were used around the 17th century; in 18th century England, it is said that people were surprised by the audacity of philanthropic businessman Jonas Hanway (1712-86), who walked the streets of London in 1778 carrying a rain umbrella. At that time the umbrella ribs were made from whale bones, but steel ribs started to be used in the 1820s. In 1852, S. Fox developed umbrella ribs that were grooved and shaped like a U, and so easy-to-use lightweight, thin umbrellas became popular.

According to the "Nihon Shoki", canopies were introduced to Japan in 552 （Kinmei 13) as a contribution by King Seong of the Baekje kingdom. These were large, silken umbrellas held over aristocrats. It is said that the personal, hand-held umbrella was brought by the international merchant Naya Sukezaemon, also known as Luzon, in the year 1594 (Bunroku 3). These began to be widespread first in the Edo period, and these umbrellas were taken up especially by girls whose hairdos would get messed up by wearing umbrella-hats directly on their heads. During the Jōkyō/Genroku eras (1684-1704), long-handled umbrellas and ‣bull's-eye patterned umbrellas became popular, followed by large, black-roofed umbrellas in the Shōtoku era (1711-16), and autumn-colored umbrellas and and refined bull's-eye patterned umbrellas in the Kyōhō era (1716-36). Crudely made umbrellas called ‣'bangasa' (coarse oilpaper umbrellas) were easy to use. Sunshades, on the other, were in popular use in the Bunroku era (1592-96) as well, and picture-decorated parasols were trendy from the Enpō era to the Jōkyō era (1673-88). Umbrellas thus became widespread, and merchants appeared who would buy quantities of second-hand umbrellas, old sets of umbrella ribs, and umbrellas that had become unusable due to torn paper. In Edo the umbrellas would be bought back, but in Kyoto and Osaka they would mostly be exchanged for earthenware teapots or clay dolls. The old ribs would be cleaned in a rib-shop, dropped off at an umbrella shop for repair, and brought back to life as a restored umbrella. Western-style umbrellas were first brought by British merchants in 1859 (Ansei 6), and as Japan entered the Meiji era, the so-called ‣'kōmorigasa,' or western-style umbrella, came to symbolize Japan's westernization; this umbrella was popularized in the 1880s (Meiji 10s).

[The Modern Umbrella]　The development of the western-style umbrella after WW2 is remarkable; in 1949, a vinyl umbrella came to the market using a vinyl film imported from America、and this became explosively popular. In 1953, the nylon western-style umbrella started being produced domestically. The spring-style folding umbrella was developed in 1954, and the golden age of folding umbrellas using nylon material began. In 1958, furthermore,a 'jump umbrella' was prototyped, which could be operated with one hand while entering and exiting a car; this became widespread in 1961, and accounted for 70-80% of the modern gentleman's non-folding umbrellas. Famous designer-brand western-style umbrellas appeared around 1972. Western-style umbrella sizes are expressed in terms of the length of the main ribs; formerly men's umbrellas were 63-66 centimeters (24.8 - 26 inches) and women's umbrellas were 55 centimeters (21.7 inches), and they all had 10 to 12 ribs. Afterwards they were made much lighter, and 60 centimeter (23.6 inch) men's umbrellas, 50 centimeter (19.7 inch) women's umbrellas, and umbrellas with 8-10 ribs each became more common. However, lately larger umbrellas have come to be preferred. Japanese-style umbrellas reached their peak between, with around 35,000,000 produced annually, 3-6 times the number of western-style umbrellas. Production dropped during the war, but in 1949-1950 close to 35,000,000 were again being produced, about 15,000,000 of those being made in Kanochou in Gifu City, which has a history of making them stretching back to the Kan'ei era (1624-44). However, after that, the production of Japanese-style umbrellas dropped off drastically. The current demand for western-style umbrellas in Japan is about 65,000,000 per year, including imports.

Kikuta Takashi

Note the ‣ symbol - this indicates other entries to read for more information. For example, in the umbrella entry, one sees ‣蛇の目傘. There is an entry on that style of umbrella (a traditional paper umbrella with a bull's-eye design) in volume 6, on page 1305. I've included here the illustration from that entry.

The entry for "Saint Louis" is found in volume 8, on page 804:

セント・ルイス

アメリカ合衆国ミズーリ州の最大都市。人口45万3085で４５％が黒人、大都市域人口235万5276（1980。全米12位）。州東部、ミシシッピ川西岸に位置し、大都市域は対岸のイリノイ州へも延び、イースト・セント・ルイスなどの衛星都市群をもつ。ミズーリ川とミシシッピ川本流の合流点のすぐ下流位置し、1764年にフランスの毛皮商人が取引所を建設、地名はフランス王ルイ9世にちなむ。開拓初期以来、水上交通の要衝として発展、現在もハイウェー、鉄道、航空路の結節点。 州東部最大の中心で、西部のカンザス・シティと州の商圏を二分する。また、デトロイトに次ぐ自動車工業の中心地で、フォード、GMなどの工場がある。マクダネル・ダグラス航空会社の本社もある。靴、ビール、機械などの工業、農産物の集散などの商業活動も盛んである。西部開拓史関係の資料を集めた博物館 Museum of Westward Expansion があり、西部にはワシントン大学がある。

Saint Louis

The largest city in the state of Missouri in the United States of America. The population is 453,085, of which 45% is black. The greater metropolitan area has a population of 2,355,276 (1980 - 12th place nationwide). Located in the eastern part of the state, on the western bank of the Mississippi River, the greater metropolitan area also stretches onto the eastern bank into the state of Illinois, containing a group of satellite cities like East St Louis. Located just downstream of the confluence point of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, it was established in 1764 by French fur traders as a trading post; its name is connected to the French king Louis the 9th. Since its early days, aquatic travel played an important role in the city's development; the modern city is also an important highway, railroad, and airway center. The state's largest business centers are split between this city, the largest center in the eastern part of the state, and Kansas City, located in the western part. The city is second only to Detroit as a center for automobile manufacturing, with factories for Ford, GM, etc. It is the headquarters for the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company. Prosperous commercial activities also include the manufacture of shoes, beer, machinery, etc. as well as the distribution of agricultural products. There is the 'Museum of Westward Expansion,' which is a museum collecting primary source documents pertaining to the history of the western pioneers. In the western part of the city is Washington University.

Kanken Kanji Dictionary (2014)

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General Details

Title: 漢検漢字辞典　第二版 (The Kanken Kanji Dictionary 2nd Edition)
Volumes: 1
Language: Japanese
Publisher: 日本漢字能力検定協会 (The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation)
Year: 2014
Pages: 1,744

This is a kanji dictionary meant for native speakers of Japanese who are preparing for the Nihon Kanji Nouryoku Kentei, or Kanji Kentei, or Kanken - basically, a series of exams designed to test kanji ability. There are twelve levels of the exam (10-3, pre-2, 2, pre-1, and 1), ranging from the 80 characters a 1st grader should know (Level 10) up past the basic 2,136 everyday use kanji (Level 2) to Level 1, where test takers are expected to have thorough knowledge of around 6,355 characters. Even though it has around a 10% pass rate, there are foreigners who have passed the kanken, like Bret Mayer. This dictionary contains all 6,355 of the characters that are in the various levels of the exam as well as the pronunciations, compounds, idiomatic phrases, etc. that a test taker would be expected to know. I have no plans to take the kanken, but I figured this dictionary would be a handy study tool for improving my kanji ability, particularly since it contains four-character idioms and other metaphoric language.

The dictionary came with a 16-page booklet answering questions about the differences between handwritten and computer forms of the characters; the dictionary uses the handwritten form for the entry headers. The entries are arranged in a-i-u-e-o order by on-reading where available. There is are a number of indices to help with locating characters: you can look characters up by any of their pronunciations in the first, look them up by radical in the second, or look them up by stroke count in the third. There are a few illustrations scattered throughout to illustrate words or kanji, but generally this book is all text. At the end of the dictionary is an introduction to the history and structure of kanji characters, guides to forming compounds and to writing characters the correct way, and a list of homophones - kanji words or compounds with the same pronunciation but different meanings. There is also a list of antonyms, a list of yojijukugo (four-character idioms), a list of proverbs, and a list of ateji, or kanji compounds where the characters are selected for their pronunciation, not their meanings.

Sample Entries

I attempt to look up "umbrella" and "Saint Louis" in every reference work featured on this site in order to provide fair comparison. As this is a dictionary of Chinese characters, "Saint Louis" is out of the question. The usual character for "umbrella," 傘, can be found on page 587.

さん 【傘】 (12) 𠆢10 常 準２ 2717|3B31 音 サン （高） 訓 かさ
筆順 [Stroke order diagram - see picture of entry]
意味 かさ。ひがさ・あまがさなど。また、かさのようにおおうもの。「傘下」類 繖さん
下つき 雨傘あまがさ・鉄傘テッサン・番傘ばんがさ・日傘ひがさ

[傘] かさ 雨・雪・日光などをさえぎるためにさす、柄のついた道具。雨傘・日傘などの総称。

[傘下] サンカ 大きな勢力をもつ人物・団体などの支配・指導を受ける立場にあること。「大企業の—に入る」 類 翼下・配下

[傘寿] サンジュ 八〇歳。また、八〇歳の祝い。 由来 傘の略字「仐」が「八十」と読めることから。

The entries are listed by the on readings, so this one is found under さん, san. The (12) indicates that the character takes 12 strokes to write. The classification radical for this character is 𠆢, which takes 2 strokes to write, and then an additional 10 strokes is required after that. The 常 indicates that this kanji is a part of the 常用漢字, jōyō kanji, or everyday use characters. 準２ indicates that this character can be found on the level pre-2 kanji kentei exam. The JIS Codes for the character follow, and then the on and kun pronunciations; the （高） indicates that this pronunciation isn't studied until high school. A series of pictures demonstrates the correct order for writing the character, and this is followed by the character's meaning: umbrella. sun-umbrella, rain-umbrella, etc. Furthermore, things that cover like an umbrella. "under the umbrella of." 類 marks synonyms, in this case an uncommon kanji that also means umbrella or parasol. 下つき refers to compound words where the kanji in question forms the ending character; the examples here are rain-umbrella, steel dome, an oilpaper-umbrella, and sun-umbrella.

Following the main kanji entry are words or idioms starting with the character. In the case of "umbrella", these include the actual word 傘 "umbrella," as well as two compounds, 傘下 "affiliated with" (under the umbrella of) and 傘寿 "eightieth birthday."

[傘] kasa A tool attached to a handle held in order to obstruct rain, snow, sunshine, etc. Generic term for rain-umbrella, sun-umbrella, etc.

[傘下] sanka Being in the position to receive direction or guidance from a person, organization, etc. with a large amount of influence. "to become affiliated with a large company" Synonyms under the wing · subordinate

[傘寿] sanju 80 years old. Also, the celebration for being eighty years old. Origin The abbreviated form of 傘, 仐, can be read as 八十 (eighty).

Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia (1939)

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General Details

Title: Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia
Volumes: 15
Language: English
Publisher: F. E. Compton & Company
Year: 1939
Pages: 5,340

The Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia and Fact-Index claims on each title page to "inspire ambition, to stimulate the imagination, to provide the inquiring mind with accurate information told in an interesting style, and thus lead into broad fields of knowledge — such is the purpose of this work". It was first published in 1922; I have the 1939 edition. It lives up to its "pictured" description, being filled with photographs, graphs, and maps. There are some color plates, as well as a few pages of tinted illustrations and photographs, but most of the work is monochrome. At the beginning of each volume is a "Here and There in This Volume" section providing a table of contents to some of the longer articles (and occasional story) for the person looking for "something interesting to read." There is also a list of "Interest-Questions Answered in This Volume" following the table of contents. For example, in volume 9 ("M"), one of the questions is "What poet ruined his eyesight writing political pamphlets? 178". Turning to the given page, we discover that the answer is John Milton: "Physicians warned him that he must stop work or lose his sight. His reply was that, as he had already sacrificed his poetry, so he was now ready to sacrifice his eyes on the altar of English liberty. Complete blindness came in 1652. Worse even than blindness was the shattering of all his ideals and hopes with the downfall of the Commonwealth" (178).

The 1939 edition of Compton's is special for being one of the first publications to feature "pictographs" (isotypes, invented by Otto Neurath). It's strange now to think of charts and graphs using images to represent data as being a novel invention, but at the time it was. Compton released special advertising material to promote the "greatest step in visual education since [the] invention of photography" - I've reproduced the full text of the pamphlet (image to the right) here:

specially prepared for Compton articles by the INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR VISUAL EDUCATION under the direction of Dr. Otto Neurath of The Hague, world-famous social scientist and educator

Here, at last, is a scientific "picture language" that visualizes the essential ideas of the modern social studies!

The Compton pictographs — created by Dr. Neurath and his great organization at The Hague — are the result of 20 years of study and experiment with "eye learning."

They have an almost magic influence. They bring abstract principles to life. They give young students a clear grasp of social relationships, often difficult to explain by older methods.

They stimulate attention, interest, imagination, and understanding. They leave with the student a permanent "visual memory" of what he has learned. They train him to new and clearer ways of thinking for himself.

Experts on the needs of American students worked with Dr. Neurath in preparing each of the 43 pictographs. The six shown here give only a suggestion of the wealth of material covered.

COMPTON LEADERSHIP IN VISUAL EDUCATION ONCE MORE TAKES A GREAT FORWARD STRIDE!

Another unique feature of this encyclopedia is that the index is split among all of the volumes; each volume has a tabbed index in the back for the letters in that volume. "The Easy Reference Fact-Index" is like a mini-encyclopedia itself, providing short definitions for a number of topics that don't have main entries of their own, as well as linking to pertinent entries when available. There are also a number of special lists and tables scattered throughout the indices. This arrangement is particular to Compton's; at the bottom of the title page for each index is listed The plan, arrangement, and contents of this index are original with F. E. Compton & Company and are fully protected by United States, Imperial, and International copyright, and registered trade mark no. 336,781".

Similar to a number of reference works, Compton's wants readers to be sure to consult the index first when looking up particular topics for research - an "Editor's Note" prefaces the index in each volume: "Every user of Compton's Pictured Encyclopedia should form the habit of first turning to the Fact-Index section at the end of each volume when in search of specific information. This index is a miniature work of reference in itself and will often give you directly the facts, dates, or definitions you seek. Even when you want a full treatment of a subject, you will usually save time by getting the exact page numbers of your material from the index". Some of the longer entries in the encyclopedia proper have a mini Index ("Reference-Outline for Organized Study of" X) directing the reader to various related topics arranged in a hierarchical structure.

Sample Entries

I attempt to look up "umbrella" and "Saint Louis" in each reference work featured on this site in order to allow fair comparison between each of them. If we follow editorial instructions, we should start in the appropriate index for each. "Umbrella" exists in the Fact-Index in volume 14 on pages 369-370, but does not have an entry proper:

Umbrella, a folding, portable protector from sun or rain made of silk, cotton, paper, etc.; in ancient times used by royalty in Eastern countries; became popular in England in the 18th century.

The index entry for "Saint Louis" is found on page 368 in volume 13.

St. Louis, Mo., largest city of state and chief market for central Mississippi Valley; near junction of Mississippi and Missouri rivers; pop. 821,960: S-9-10, maps M-208, U-188-9, picture M-206
art museum S-10 See also in Index Museums, table
early river trade M-206
Federal Reserve Bank (8th), map F-22
fur trade S-9: auctions S-70; beginnings of F-226
German element I-22
great fire F-58
Louisiana Purchase Exposition S-9-10
Mound City M-291
natural gas supplied G-24
zoölogical park, picture Z-225

The main entry for "Saint Louis" is found in volume 13 on pages 9 and 10:

Saint Louis, Mo. Situated a few miles below the junction of the Mississippi with the mighty Missouri, St. Louis spreads over 20 miles of the curving west bank of the Mississippi and extends back nearly ten miles from its once busy levee on the river front. St. Louis is a great city, a very great city, in wealth, industry, and resources. The chief receiving point for the vast and rich territory to the southwest, and the chief market for the central area of the rich Mississippi valley, it has long held its position as one of the leading cities of the United States. It is today a metropolitan center with a population of 821,960. The tributary district of East St. Louis, just across the river in Illinois, and the suburbs which its old charter prevents it from annexing, add about 450,000 more.

Its commanding position and splendid transportation facilities make it the center of industries as varies as they are important. As a distributing center it claims to be the country's largest market for shoes, hardware, stoves and furnaces, horses and mules, carpets, drugs, hides, harness, and various other products. When the Great War closed the fur markets of England and Germany, St. Louis, which had been an important fur center, sprang into place as the largest raw fur market in the world, receiving furs from every state in the Union, from every province in Canada, and from Alaska.

Shoes for a Nation

St. Louis has also greatly diversified manufactures. Its annual output of shoes is sufficient to provide every fourth person in the United States with a pair. It is one of the greatest lumber markets of the world, and there are immense woodenware and furniture factories. The decreasing production of ore in Missouri caused a decline of the once important pig-iron industry, but St. Louis developed her manufactures of finished iron and steel goods, and now turns out quantities of structural iron, castings, machine-shop and foundry products, boilers, stoves, wire goods, cutlery, tools, and agricultural implements. Missouri is a great producer of lead and zinc, so the manufactures of lead and zinc products, plumbers' and steamfitters' supplies, paint and white lead have become distinctive St. Louis industries. Other important products are railroad cars, street cars, automobiles, electrical supplies, enameled ware, drugs, paints, soap, clothing, meats, flour, and other food products.

The river and the railroads in turn have given St. Louis her commercial importance. When the Mississippi River was the great highway of traffic, St. Louis had its first great period of growth. With the cessation of the river traffic, St. Louis marked time for awhile, then caught the swifter cadence of the railroad. With the revival of river transportation in the last few years, the city has resumed its position as a great port. Fleets of steel barges carry its manufactures to New Orleans for shipment to the Southwest, the Pacific Coast, and foreign countries; and they bring back cargoes of coffee, sugar, sisal, canned goods, and other heavy freight. Modern municipal and government docks have been built.

Several great bridges span the mighty Mississippi and connect the city with Illinois. The newest of these, the Municipal Free Bridge, is the largest double-decked bridge in existence. Eads Bridge, completed in 1874, was the first bridge to span the lordly Mississippi; it carries both wagon ways and railroad tracks, and is 55 feet above high water so as not to interfere with river traffic. Built entirely of steel above its piers, its long spans arching high over the swiftly flowing water, it gives an appearance at once of graceful beauty and invincible strength. There are also passenger and freight ferries.

The St. Louis of History

St. Louis originally consisted of three streets back from the river. This old section later became the business district, and now for the most part is given over to commission merchants and great silent warehouses. Here and there a façade of rare distinction or a glimpse through cobwebbed windows of a wonderful stair, and the very sturdy and substantial old cathedral of gray granite, with its exotic French inscriptions, speak of this section's former glory. The old court house is near by, interesting as a dignified structure, and as the scene of the whipping post and of the slave sales held in former days on its steps. The old French market and the municipal markets are also places of interest.

St. Louis has a solid limestone foundation. It is built on a succession of slight ridges and depressions to the west, each ridge a little higher than the last, rising to meet the plateau of the Ozarks. The first ridge is at Broadway, the fifth street back from the river. Railway tunnels running under the retail district take the traffic that crosses the river bridges to the Union Station.

The streets of downtown St. Louis are narrow, a legacy of other years. Wide highways, however, span the city from east to west, sometimes curving from the river to the river, and these great arteries of traffic make the entire city more accessible.

The Beautiful Park System

Parks are scattered in all sections of the city. Forest Park, the largest of these, is located just beyond the beautiful residence districts of the new St. Louis, and is a rolling strip of virgin forest. This park was the site of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. The building now occupied by the St. Louis Art Museum was the central hall of a group of buildings devoted to art at that time. Another building saved from the Exposition is the superb red granite entrance hall of Washington University, one of a group of the most appropriate collegiate buildings in the New World. In the southwestern part of the city is the Missouri Botanical Garden, popularly known from the donor as Shaw's Garden; this contains one of the fine botanical collections of the world.

The Quarries and the Builders

Nearly all St. Louis houses are constructed of brick and stone, and even today it is not necessary to go beyond the city limits for most of the building materials. The local quarries are still worked and brick is manufactured in enormous quantities, as well as lime, cement, sewer pipe, and terra cotta.

Jefferson Barracks at the southern end of St. Louis is one of the largest military reservations in the United States, and one of the four principal recruiting posts. St. Louis has several libraries, two large universities — St. Louis University (Catholic) and Washington University — a number of colleges, medical schools, and numerous convents and seminaries. The yearly Veiled Prophet's Pageant is modeled on the Mardi Gras of New Orleans.

The history of St. Louis begins with its founding, in 1764, as a fur trading post in the northern part of the Louisiana country. The city became part of the United States as a portion of the Louisiana Purchase. For 100 years, from 1764 to 1864, the business district of St. Louis remained where it was located on Pierre Laclede's map. With the coming of the railroads, the business district slipped back from the river.

Since 1923 St. Louis has been engaged in a ninety-million-dollar municipal improvement project. This embraces making new streets and widening others, increasing the water supply, improving sanitation, street lighting, eliminating grade crossings, new parks and playgrounds, hospitals, and municipal markets. The municipal center plan calls for the creation of a noble plaza in the heart of the city surrounded by various public buildings.