[Ads-l] Quote: A picture is worth ten thousand words

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Laurence Horn wrote:
> Interesting! Seems to me like Caffyn's 1903 quote wins the prize, unless
> there really is a Japanese or Chinese original.

Caffyn's remark is very close to the modern saying, but she uses
“look” instead of “picture”. The variant with “look” has a long
history.

1828: One broad look is worth a thousand descriptions. (Anonymous)
1876: One “look” is worth a thousand descriptions. (Robert Maguire)
1903: One look is worth a thousand words (Kathleen Caffyn)

Assertions of a Japanese or Chinese linkage occurred in advertisements
by 1914. The 1914 advertisements used “look” instead of “picture”.
During the ensuing years the “picture” variants were also described as
Japanese and Chinese. The connection is currently unsupported.

1914 May 16: A look is worth a thousand words. (Described as Japanese saying)
1914 Oct 12: One look is worth a thousand words. (Described as Chinese saying)
1917: A picture is worth a thousand words. (Described as a Japanese proverb)
1921 Dec 08: One Look Is Worth a Thousand Words. (Attributed to
unnamed famous Japanese philosopher)
1925 Jan 25: One picture is worth ten thousand words. (Described as
old Chinese proverb)

Benjamin Barrett kindly sent me (off list) a link to a pertinent
article at phrases.org.uk about the saying. Barrett also sent a link
to an article in Chinese about the topic.

https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/a-picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words.html

(https://shane.edu.hk/learning-tips/a-picture-is-worth-1000-words/?lang=zh-hant).

The phrases.org.uk article notes that Frederick R. Barnard used "One
look is worth a thousand words" in December 1921, and Barnard
attributed the expression to a Japanese philosopher. Researcher Burton
Stevenson also mentioned the 1921 Barnard citation way back in 1948
within “The Macmillan Book Of Proverbs”.

Barnard is sometimes blamed for inventing a spurious connection to
Japan, but the 1914 and 1917 citations suggest that the connection
existed before 1921.

Garson

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