A Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words

Arthur Brisbane? Confucius? Kathleen Caffyn? Frederick R. Barnard? Robert Maguire? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: A famous adage highlights the value of illustrations and photographs. Here are four versions:

(1) A picture is worth ten thousand words
(2) A picture is worth a thousand words.
(3) One picture is worth a ten thousand words.
(4) One picture is worth a thousand words.

This saying has been attributed to prominent U.S. newspaper editor Arthur Brisbane, advertising executive Frederick R. Barnard, and Chinese sage Confucius. Would you please explore this topic?

Quote Investigator: Tracing this saying is a challenging task because the expression has evolved over time. Despite this complexity, QI believes that the primary credit for the adage should go to Arthur Brisbane.

In March 1911 “The Post-Standard” of Syracuse, New York reported on a speech delivered by Brisbane who discussed the effective use of pictures:^[1] 1911 March 28, The Post-Standard, Speakers Give Sound Advice: Arthur Brisbane Talks on Journalism and Publicity, Quote Page 18, Column 5, Syracuse, New York. (NewspaperArchive)

“If I show you a picture of a pebble half an inch high on a magazine page and ask you how high it is, you cannot tell,” he said. “But if I put a housefly beside it twice as large as the pebble, you say it is a grain of sand. If I take out the fly and put a man on horseback on top of the pebble you say it is a boulder.”

Brisbane stated his thesis with the following two sentences. The phrasing differed from the statement under examination, but the meaning and vocabulary were the same. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:

“Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words.”

In July 1915 Brisbane published a piece in the “New Orleans Item” which included two vivid illustrations. Beneath the illustrations Brisbane wrote a statement using “ten thousand”. This was the earliest exact match known to QI for one of the statements in the inquiry above:^[2] 1915 July 26, New Orleans Item, Debt Carries You for a While But—Groaning and Sweating, You Carry Debt in the End by Arthur Brisbane, Quote Page 6, New Orleans, Louisiana. (GenealogyBank)

A picture is worth ten thousand words.
If you can’t see the truth in these pictures you are among the vast majority that must learn only by experience.

An overview showing the evolution of the expression with key phrases, dates, and attributions appears immediately below.

1750: One timely deed is worth ten thousand words. (James Thomson)

1828: One broad look is worth a thousand descriptions. (Anonymous)

1848: One fact, my dear madam, is worth ten thousand words. (Henry Tudor)

1876: One “look” is worth a thousand descriptions. (Robert Maguire)

1891: One good picture is worth many pages of written description. (William Sproston Caine)

1893: One look is worth all the guesses in creation. (Howard Crutcher)

1895: One look is worth a ton of letters. (B. M. Croker)

1895: The drawing shows me at a glance what would be spread over ten pages in a book. (English translation of Ivan Turgenev’s 1862 novel)

1898: One look is worth three feels and four guesses. (Attributed to Robert T. Morris)

1903: One look is worth a thousand words (Kathleen Caffyn)

1907: A minute of examination is worth a thousand words of description. (Advertisement)

1910 Apr 30: One picture is worth several pages of an ordinary law brief for the illuminative ideas it suggests. (Anonymous)

1911 Mar 28: Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words. (Arthur Brisbane)

1912: One picture is worth many pages of description. (Helen Churchill Candee)

1912 May 04: One picture is worth a dozen chapters of mere words  (Advertisement)

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)

1915 Jul 26: A picture is worth ten thousand words. (Arthur Brisbane)

1915 Jul 29: A strong picture is worth ten thousand words. (Attributed to Arthur Brisbane)

1915 Nov 05: A strong picture is worth a thousand words. (Attributed to Arthur Brisbane)

1915 Dec 04: A picture is worth a thousand words. (Advertisement)

1917: A picture is worth a thousand words. (Described as a Japanese proverb)

1917 Apr 05: A good photograph is worth a thousand words. (Anonymous)

1920 Jan 29: One picture is worth ten thousand words. (Attributed to unnamed famous journalist)

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)

1926 Apr 1: One Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words. (Attributed to Confucius)

The linkages of the saying to Japan and China that began to appear by 1914 are unsupported at this time.

Here are the details for the citations listed above.

In 1750 the play “Agamemnon” by James Thomson was published. The main character complained that a traitor had stolen his crown, and he planned to seize his rival:^[3] 1750, The Works of Mr. James Thomson, Volume 3, Play: Agamemnon: A Tragedy, Act 3, Scene 2, Speaker: Agamemnon, Quote Page 165, Printed for A. Millar, London, England. (Google Books Full View) link

Why stand I chafing here? One timely deed
Is worth ten thousand words—Come then, my friends,
Come and behold me seize amidst his guards,
His coward guards—Guilt ever was a coward—
This rival-king, and with him crown my triumph.

The text above referred to a “timely deed” instead of a “picture”, but the template was the same.

In 1828 Samuel Putnam published a collection of writings under the title “Sequel to The Analytical Reader”. The work contained an excerpt from a letter with an anonymous author. The letter stated that a “broad look” of a mountain revealed the destructive power of a recent avalanche. Direct visual evidence was superior to an extensive written description:^[4]1828, Sequel to The Analytical Reader: In Which the Original Design is Extended, So as to Embrace an Explanation of Phrases and Figurative Language, Compiled by Samuel Putnam, Lesson 30: A Whole … Continue reading

One broad look is worth a thousand descriptions. The mountains’ sides indicate the desolating tempest which has but recently spent its force upon their summits—torn by avalanches of different sizes, succeeding each other in quick succession, and ploughing long and deep grooves down their lengthened declivities.

In 1848 “Domestic Memoirs of a Christian Family Resident in the County of Cumberland” by Henry Tudor Esq. employed the template with the word “fact” instead of “picture”:^[5] 1848, Domestic Memoirs of a Christian Family Resident in the County of Cumberland by Henry Tudor Esq., Quote Page 218, J. Hatchard and Son, London. (Google Books Full View) link

“One fact, my dear madam, is worth ten thousand words. It is the grain compared with the chaff,—the fruit with the leaves.”

In 1849 “The Poetical Works of Mr. James Thomson” included a reprint of the play “Agamemnon”. Thus the statement from 1750 continued to circulate.^[6]1849, The Poetical Works of Mr. James Thomson With A Life of the Author by Rev. Patrick Murdoch, Play: Agamemnon: A Tragedy, Act 3, Scene 2, Speaker: Agamemnon, Quote Page 395, William Tegg and … Continue reading

In 1876 an article by Reverend Robert Maguire in “The Quiver” of London stated that obtaining one look at a person was more revealing than an extensive written description:^[7] 1876, The Quiver, “We Would See Jesus” by The Rev. Robert Maguire, Start Page 173, Quote Page 174, Column 1, Cassell Petter & Galpin, London. (Google Books Full View) link

In natural things, to see is to realise, to read a person in his appearance, form, manner; and we all know that one “look” is worth a thousand descriptions. “What is he like?” is a question that may be answered by all sorts of vague opinions; you might hear these descriptions, the most vivid and the most characteristic, and yet next moment you might pass the very person by, and not know him. But when you have seen the person that has been so described, all is clear and plain.

In 1891 “Picturesque India: A Handbook for European Travellers” by William Sproston Caine highlighted the value of one good picture:^[8] 1891, Picturesque India: A Handbook for European Travellers by W. S. Caine (William Sproston Caine), Preface, Quote Page ix and x, George Routledge and Sons, London. (Google Books Full View) link

I have supplemented my verbal descriptions with illustrations of buildings, scenery, types of nationality and incidents of the bazar which will, I believe, be found very helpful to my readers; one good picture is worth many pages of written description, and I can vouch for their truth and accuracy.

In 1893 a piece in a Chicago, Illinois medical journal emphasized the value of one good look at an appendix to achieve an accurate diagnosis:^[9]1893 November, Journal of Orificial Surgery, Volume 2, Number 5, Appendicitis: A Personal Experience by Howard Crutcher MD (Chicago), Start Page 211, Quote Page 213, Pratt & Holbrook, Chicago, … Continue reading

“My case demands a rational investigation — and one look is worth all the guesses in creation. I want some one to look down the barrel of my appendix and make sure that it is not loaded.”

In 1895 the novel “Mr. Jervis” by B. M. Croker stated that one look was worth a large number of missives:^[10] 1895, Mr. Jervis by B. M. Croker, Chapter 45: Only Mr. Jervis, Quote Page 384, J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Google Books Full View) link

“He is years younger than I am, and he is so cadaverous and shrunken that he looks seventy at the very least. Poor fellow! he was in a desperate state at first, when he thought I had come to carry you off. I am glad you reassured him so completely. Well, as long as he is here, he shall have you. I understand matters now; I have seen with my own eyes, and one look is worth a ton of letters.”

In 1895 translator Constance Garnett published an English edition of Ivan Turgenev’s 1862 Russian novel «Отцы и дети» (“Fathers and Children”). One of the characters made a thematically pertinent comment:^[11]1895, Fathers and Children: A Novel by Ivan Turgenev, Translated from the Russian by Constance Garnett, Series: The Novels of Ivan Turgenev, Volume 4, Quote Page 143, Macmillan and Company, New York. … Continue reading

‘Excuse me; but as a geologist, you would sooner have recourse to a book, to a special work on the subject, and not to a drawing.’
‘The drawing shows me at a glance what would be spread over ten pages in a book.’

In 1898 a New York medical journal published an eccentric adage about diagnosis:^[12]1898, Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of New York, Article 13: A Year’s Work in Appendicitis by Herman Mynter M.D. (Buffalo), Start Page 159, Quote Page 160, Medical Society of the … Continue reading

Well may we repeat one of Robert T. Morris’s aphorisms on appendicitis: “One look is worth three feels and four guesses.”

In 1903 Kathleen Caffyn published the religious book “He for God Only”. She used an expression that fit the template but used the word “look” instead of “picture”:^[13] 1903, He for God Only by Kathleen Caffyn, Chapter 15, Quote Page 133, Hurst and Blackett, London. (Google Books Full View) link

But about these schools one look is worth a thousand words, and your point of view blent with ours makes an excellent combination.

In 1907 “The Garden Magazine” of New York published a book advertisement which contained a thematically relevant comment:^[14] 1907 October, The Garden Magazine, Volume 6, Number 3, The Talk of the Office, The Garden Library, Quote Page 110, Column 3, Doubleday, Page & Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link

We want our readers to see the volumes either in the book stores or through the mails. A minute of examination is worth a thousand words of description. Fill out this blank, and let us send on approval. We leave it to you to pay for or return after examination.

In 1910 “The Daily Advocate” of Stamford, Connecticut described a court case during which lawyers submitted several “nice half-tone illustrations”. The journalist was impressed and suggested that future legal briefs might rely on pictures:^[15] 1910 April 30, The Daily Advocate, Live Local Topics, Quote Page 4, Column 4, Stamford, Connecticut. (GenealogyBank)

It also suggests the possibility that the most powerful pleadings may hereafter be made by the photographer. One picture is worth several pages of an ordinary law brief for the illuminative ideas it suggests.

In March 1911 a newspaper in Syracuse, New York reported on a speech delivered by Arthur Brisbane as mentioned at the beginning of this article. Brisbane discussed using words, pictures, and comparisons. He suggested that pictures were the most effective tools for communication. This was the earliest strong semantic match containing both “picture” and “thousand words” known to QI:^[16] 1911 March 28, The Post-Standard, Speakers Give Sound Advice: Arthur Brisbane Talks on Journalism and Publicity, Quote Page 18, Column 5, Syracuse, New York. (NewspaperArchive)

“I don’t like to talk in the abstract, and God forbid that I should ever be called scholarly.
“Use a picture. It’s worth a thousand words. Use a picture with five words, a comparison in thirty words.”

In April 1911 “Printers’ Ink” reprinted excerpts from Brisbane’s speech in Syracuse including the words above.^[17] 1911 April 20, Printers’ Ink, Volume 75, Number 3, Newspaper Copy That People Must Read by Arthur Brisbane, Quote Page 17, Decker Communications Inc., New York. (Google Books Full View) link

In June 1911 “Printers’ Ink” published “The Clever Use of Imagery in Advertising” by Hartwell Mason, and the author repeated the guidance of Brisbane:^[18] 1911 June 1, Printers’ Ink, Volume 75, Number 9, “The Clever Use of Imagery in Advertising” by Hartwell Mason, Quote Page 39, Decker Communications Inc., New York. (HathiTrust) link

“Use plenty of comparisons,” is the best advice of Arthur Brisbane to writers of advertisements and few will dispute that he has found an “open sesame” to the mind of the masses of today. “Use a picture,” says Mr. Brisbane. “It’s worth a thousand words. Use a picture with five words, and a comparison in thirty words.”

In 1912 Helen Churchill Candee published “The Tapestry Book” which included numerous pictures of artworks. Candee employed a thematically pertinent remark:^[19] 1912, The Tapestry Book by Helen Churchill Candee, Chapter 7: Renaissance To Rubens, Quote Page 80, Frederick A. Stokes Company, New York. (Google Books full view) link

As one picture is worth many pages of description, it were well to observe the examples given (plate facing page 79) of the superb set of Antony and Cleopatra, a series of designs attributed to Rubens, executed in Brussels by Gerard van den Strecken.

In May 1912 “The Cleveland Leader” printed an advertisement for a set of Civil War photographs and a history book. The ad employed a thematically germane comment:^[20]1912 May 4, The Cleveland Leader, An Advertisement To Mothers and Fathers, The Brady Civil War Photos and Lossing’s History of the Civil War, Quote Page 11, Column 5, Cleveland, Ohio. … Continue reading

So in the teaching of History. One picture is worth a dozen chapters of mere words—splendid though the words be. That is why most history text-books are illustrated.

In May 1914 “The New York Times” printed an advertisement from a real estate company which proposed a Japanese provenance for the variant with the word “look”:^[21] 1914 May 16, New York Times, (Advertisement from Real Estate Specialist Clifford B. Harmon & Company), Quote Page 18, Column 4, New York. (ProQuest)

“A look is worth a thousand words,” say the Japanese. Look at Shore Acres. Every lot has either waterfront or water view.

In October 1914 “The Chicago Daily Tribune” printed an advertisement from a furniture company which proposed a Chinese provenance for the variant with the word “look”:^[22] 1914 October 12, Chicago Daily Tribune, (Advertisement for furniture made by John A. Colby & Sons, Chicago, Illinois), Quote Page 9, Column 6, Chicago, Illinois. (ProQuest)

The Chinese have a saying that one look is worth a thousand words. One look at Colby Shop Made Furniture will satisfy the most critical buyer that our furniture means lasting satisfaction.

In July 1915 Brisbane published a piece in the “New Orleans Item” as mentioned at the beginning of this article. The article contained two vivid illustrations. Brisbane wrote a statement using “ten thousand”, and this was the earliest exact match known to QI:^[23] 1915 July 26, New Orleans Item, Debt Carries You for a While But—Groaning and Sweating, You Carry Debt in the End by Arthur Brisbane, Quote Page 6, New Orleans, Louisiana. (GenealogyBank)

A picture is worth ten thousand words.
If you can’t see the truth in these pictures you are among the vast majority that must learn only by experience.

A few days later in July 1915 “Printers’ Ink” published an advertisement which credited Brisbane with a variant using “strong” and “ten thousand”:^[24] 1915 July 29, Printers’ Ink, Volume 92, Number 5, (Advertisement for Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly Newspaper), Quote Page 33, Decker Communications Inc., New York. (HathiTrust) link

“A strong picture is worth ten thousand words.” —Arthur Brisbane

In October 1915 “The Printing Art” printed an advertisement for “Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly Newspaper” which also credited Brisbane with a variant using “strong” and “ten thousand”:^[25] 1915 October, The Printing Art, (Advertisement for Leslie’s Illustrated Weekly Newspaper), Quote Page 140, Column 2, University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. (HathiTrust Full View) link

Advertising men must surely know that Brisbane is right when he says “A strong picture is worth ten thousand words.” The daily newspapers that give their readers the most pictures have the largest circulations.

In November 1915 “Dunsmuir News” California published an advertisement which credited Brisbane with a variant using “strong” and “thousand”:^[26] 1915 November 5, Dunsmuir News, A Picture Worth Deep Thought and Study, Quote Page 4, Column 1, Dunsmuir, California. (Newspapers_com)

While carrying the picture in mind we cannot help but say that Brisbane was right when he said, “A strong picture is worth a thousand words”

Also, in November 1915 a newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia credited Brisbane with a variant using “strong” and “thousand”:^[27] 1915 November 11, Virginian-Pilot and The Norfolk Landmark, Advertising Talks Written By Service Bureau Virginian-Pilot, Quote Page 1, Column 1, Norfolk, Virginia. (Newspapers_com)

Brisbane is right when he says: ‘A strong picture is worth a thousand words.’ The big manufacturers who spend millions of dollars for white space in newspapers and magazines use the best illustrations obtainable.

In December 1915 the New York trade journal “Good Roads” published an advertisement for a wagon company which used an exact match for one the target expressions. No attribution was given:^[28]1915 December 4, Good Roads, (Advertisement for Dumping Wagons) Title: What makes this Booklet different?, Company: Watson Wagon Company, Canastota, New York, Quote Page 51, The E. L. Powers Company, … Continue reading

A picture is worth a thousand words. That’s why a very little talk goes a long way if used with good pictures.

In 1917 Herbert F. DeBower published “Advertising Principles” and he suggested a Japanese provenance for the saying:^[29]1917, Advertising Principles by Herbert F. DeBower (Vice President, Alexander Hamilton Institute), Series: Modern Business, Volume 6, Chapter 17: Drawings and Reproductions, Quote Page 253, Alexander … Continue reading

According to an old Japanese proverb, “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

In April 1917 “The Automobile” magazine of New York printed a variant using “good photograph” instead of “picture”:^[30]1917 April 5, The Automobile, Volume 36, Number 14, Manufacturers’ Merchandising: Use Photographs To Aid Sales, Start Page 703, Quote Page 703, The Class Journal Company, New York. (Google Books … Continue reading

“A good photograph is worth a thousand words,” said some wise man long ago, and the Studebaker Corp. of America basing its actions on this principle is utilizing photographs to aid its salesmen.

In 1919 an advertisement in a newspaper in Saskatoon, Canada also suggested a Japanese provenance for the saying:^[31] 1919 February 15, The Saskatoon Daily Star, Travel Cures Prejudice, Quote Page (Between 26 and 27), Column 1, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. (Newspapers_com)

A Japanese proverb says that a picture is worth a thousand words, but whoever is responsible for that saying did not know that in 1919 a picture of the ex-kaiser would be worth considerably less than the simplest Anglo-Saxon word.

In 1920 a newspaper in Wilmington, Delaware published an advertisement for Wanamaker’s Store which attributed the expression under examination to an unnamed journalist:^[32] 1920 January 29, Every Evening, (Advertisement for furniture at Wanamaker’s Store, John Wanamaker, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Quote Page 7, Column 7, Wilmington, Delaware. (ProQuest)

“One picture is worth ten thousand words,” said a famous journalist. And one glimpse of this Wanamaker Sale Furniture is worth ten thousand pictures.

In 1921 “Printers’ Ink” printed an advertisement by Frederick R. Barnard of Street Railways Advertising Company. He attributed the expression to an unnamed Japanese philosopher:^[33]1921 December 8, Printers’ Ink, Volume 117, Number 10, (Advertisement by Fred R. Barnard for Street Railways Advertising Company), Quote Page 96 and 97, Printers’ Ink Publishing Company, New … Continue reading

“One Look Is Worth a Thousand Words”
So said a famous Japanese philosopher, and he was right—nearly everyone likes to “read” pictures.

In 1925 “The Atlanta Constitution” of Georgia printed an ad from a Florida realtor which labeled the saying a Chinese proverb:^[34] 1925 January 25, The Atlanta Constitution, (Advertisement for Donovan & Sons Realtors, St. Petersburg, Florida), Quote Page 10, Column 4, Atlanta, Georgia. (ProQuest)

“One picture is worth ten thousand words”
So reads an old Chinese proverb. We wish we had the necessary picture.

In 1926 an advertisement in a Spokane, Washington newspaper attributed the saying to Chinese sage Confucius:^[35] 1926 April 1, Spokane Daily Chronicle, (Advertisement for The Whitehouse Company, Quote Page 12, Column 2, Spokane, Washington. (Newspapers_com)

If as Confucius Said, “One Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words—”
This Message—Pointing the Way to Easter Smartness—is indeed eloquent and informative.

In conclusion, QI believes that Arthur Brisbane should receive primary credit for this saying based on the citations dated March 28, 1911 and July 26, 1915. The notion that visual information obtained via a look or a picture is superior to a lengthy verbal description did occur in expressions before 1911. Yet, current evidence suggests that Brisbane crafted the memorable and compact statement: A picture is worth ten thousand words.

The evidence suggesting a Japanese or Chinese origin occurred rather late and is weak. Future researchers will probably uncover additional illuminating citations.

Image Notes: Illustration of a handshake with a word collage overlay from johnhain at Pixabay. Image has been resized.

(QI consulted helpful reference works while working on this article including “The Quote Verifier” (2006) by Ralph Keyes; “The Dictionary of Modern Proverbs” (2012) compiled by Charles Clay Doyle, Wolfgang Mieder, and Fred R. Shapiro; and “The New Yale Book of Quotations” (2021) by Fred R. Shapiro. In addition, QI thanks other path-breaking researchers including Victor Steinbok, Daryl H. Hepting, William Safire, Benjamin Barrett, and Gary Martin. All errors are the responsibility of QI.)