L Is for Letter-Perfect Library Memento

A lush coffee-table tome published in 1997 celebrated the centennial of the Jefferson Building, oldest and most ornate of the three Library of Congress edifices. Blaine Marshall wanted to create a small, simple spinoff “so tourists could take a bit of the library home.”

Thus was born “The Library of Congress: An Architectural Alphabet” (Pomegranate, $17.95). In the beautifully photographed, clearly explained book, A is for arch, B is for balustrade, P is for pilaster and V is for vault, each letter illuminating an element of the building.

“All the letters and pictures come from us,” said Marshall, a photo editor in the library’s publications division who worked on the original project.

The decorative Q (for quoin) dates from 1470; the T (for tripod) from 1974. “I went to the rare book room and looked through hundreds of books for letters,” she said.

The book cites the sources for all 26 letters in the hopes readers will visit the library to see the originals.

“Many people, including Washingtonians, often don’t know the things that are here,” said Marshall. “The building and the collections are so thrilling.”