Keep it quiet in the library, where you can always find Mr. Dewey's namesake, the Dewey Decimal System.In 1876, Melvil Dewey (1851–1931) published his classification system, which ultimately changed the organization of library holdings.
Shhhhh …! It's Melvil Dewey's Birthday.
Keep it quiet in the library, where you can always find Mr. Dewey's namesake, the Dewey Decimal System.In 1876, Melvil Dewey (1851–1931) published his classification system, which ultimately changed the organization of library holdings.
In Dewey's honor, we pay tribute to libraries and their workers with this library furniture from the Renwick Gallery collection!
This striking ladder is one of several functional pieces Daniel Jackson produced for home libraries. It is a surpassing example of his distinctive furniture style, incorporating many of his characteristic design concepts and construction techniques.
Like many of Jackson's functional works, the ladder's form suggests the human body. With its head-like upper shelf resting on top of an elongated neck that appears to rise above the shoulders of the short "chest" of this piece, the ladder resembles the tall, lanky figure of Jackson.
Source: National Museum of American Art (CD-ROM) (New York and Washington D.C.: MacMillan Digital in cooperation with the National Museum of American Art, 1996).
Pictured: Daniel Jackson, 1938–95, Four Step Library Ladder, 1965, joined and fabricated black walnut and oak, 78 1/2 x 20 1/2 x 25 3/4 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance and museum purchase made possible by the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program.