United States House of Representatives: History, Art, & Archives
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Statuary Hall Stereoview

Stereoview with two nearly identical black and white photographs of marble statues of Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Jonathan Trumbull, and Roger Sherman, and a painting in Statuary Hall, arranged side by side on yellow cardboard, captioned, “Old House of Representatives. Capitol, Washington, D.C.”/tiles/collection/6/6838.xml
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Reverse of stereoview, with text reading, “The Interior of the U. S. Capitol. The Rotunda occupies the centre of the main building, while the southern portion of the building was formerly, before the addition of the wings, occupied as the House of Representatives. This apartment, 95 feet in length, is built in the form of the Grecian Theatre, with the Dome 60 feet in height, supported by 24 columns of variegated marble. The ceiling is painted in panel, and light is admitted through a cupola in the centre of it. Immediately over the entrance is a beautiful marble statue by Franzoni, representing History in a winged car traversing the Globe, on which are figured the Signs of the Zodiac, the wheel of the car, by an ingenious device, forming the dial of a clock. This Hall, generally known as the old Hall of Representatives, is now used as a gallery for statuary and paintings which come into possession of the Government. The new Hall of Representatives, which is in the Southern Extension, is 139 feet long, 93 feet wide, and 30 feet high. There is a spacious gallery on three sides with a capacity to seat 1,200 persons. The members' desks, 300 in number, are arranged in a semi-circular form on the floor. The ceiling is paneled with glass to light the Hall; on each separate panel are painted the arms of each of the different States. The new Senate Chamber, which is in the Northern Extension, corresponds exactly with the Hall of Representatives, except that it is not as large; in length it is 112 feet, in width 82 feet, and in height 30 feet. The gallery will seat about 1,000 persons. The Marble Room of the Senate is very beautiful in its decorations, and forms one of the chief attractions of the Capitol. Besides its looking glasses, the roof is upheld by two rows of fluted columns in white Carrara Marble, which the mirrors repeat, down vistas of infinite beauty. It is about 85 feet long. The Congressional Library consists of two halls and a transept, and occupies the western projection of the Capitol. The main room is 91 feet long, 34 feet wide, and 36 feet high; the other halls being each 70 feet long, and 29 1/2 feet wide. The President's Room contains many frescoes, typical of the history of the country, also portraits of the first President and his Cabinet, by Brumidi. The Capitol, containing also numerous committee rooms, offices and corridors, is highly ornamented with rich marbles, paintings, frescoes and groups of statuary.”/tiles/collection/6/6333.xml
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Stereoview with two nearly identical black and white photographs of marble statues of Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Jonathan Trumbull, and Roger Sherman, and a painting in Statuary Hall, arranged side by side on yellow cardboard, captioned, “Old House of Representatives. Capitol, Washington, D.C.”
Reverse of stereoview, with text reading, “The Interior of the U. S. Capitol. The Rotunda occupies the centre of the main building, while the southern portion of the building was formerly, before the addition of the wings, occupied as the House of Representatives. This apartment, 95 feet in length, is built in the form of the Grecian Theatre, with the Dome 60 feet in height, supported by 24 columns of variegated marble. The ceiling is painted in panel, and light is admitted through a cupola in the centre of it. Immediately over the entrance is a beautiful marble statue by Franzoni, representing History in a winged car traversing the Globe, on which are figured the Signs of the Zodiac, the wheel of the car, by an ingenious device, forming the dial of a clock. This Hall, generally known as the old Hall of Representatives, is now used as a gallery for statuary and paintings which come into possession of the Government. The new Hall of Representatives, which is in the Southern Extension, is 139 feet long, 93 feet wide, and 30 feet high. There is a spacious gallery on three sides with a capacity to seat 1,200 persons. The members' desks, 300 in number, are arranged in a semi-circular form on the floor. The ceiling is paneled with glass to light the Hall; on each separate panel are painted the arms of each of the different States. The new Senate Chamber, which is in the Northern Extension, corresponds exactly with the Hall of Representatives, except that it is not as large; in length it is 112 feet, in width 82 feet, and in height 30 feet. The gallery will seat about 1,000 persons. The Marble Room of the Senate is very beautiful in its decorations, and forms one of the chief attractions of the Capitol. Besides its looking glasses, the roof is upheld by two rows of fluted columns in white Carrara Marble, which the mirrors repeat, down vistas of infinite beauty. It is about 85 feet long. The Congressional Library consists of two halls and a transept, and occupies the western projection of the Capitol. The main room is 91 feet long, 34 feet wide, and 36 feet high; the other halls being each 70 feet long, and 29 1/2 feet wide. The President's Room contains many frescoes, typical of the history of the country, also portraits of the first President and his Cabinet, by Brumidi. The Capitol, containing also numerous committee rooms, offices and corridors, is highly ornamented with rich marbles, paintings, frescoes and groups of statuary.”
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Date

1873

Artist

Chandler Seaver Jr.

Publisher

Charles Pollock

Dimensions

3 7/8 x 7 in. (9.8 x 17.8 cm)

Accession Number

2010.016.027

Credit Line

Collection of the U.S. House of Representatives

Object Details

The former House Chamber was renamed National Statuary Hall in 1864, but it was several years before the sculpture collection began to coalesce. Here, several statues of Founding Fathers—among them the copy of Jean-Antoine Houdon’s George Washington and Connecticut’s Statuary Hall representatives, Speaker Jonathan Trumbull and Roger Sherman—are gathered as part of the nascent national collection.

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Office of Art & Archives, Office of the Clerk: art@mail.house.gov, archives@mail.house.gov