Historical December 1987 report or notice. Original dates, prices and contacts describe the source period; current availability has not been established.
Colorful banners adorn the Loggia of the History Museum in the Jefferson Memorial Building in Forest Park in anticipation of the coming of “Magna Carta: Liberty Under the Law,” which will be on view through January 31, 1988. St. Louis is one of four cities in the United States to host the exhibition, in celebration of the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution. National Super Markets is the major sponsor of Magna Carta in Missouri.
The History Museum will be open seven days a week from 9:30 a.m. until 4:45 p.m., except for Tuesdays and Thursdays when it will be open until 8 p.m.
Admission is $3 for adults; $2 for senior citizens (65 and older); $1 for children 6-18; and free for children under six. National Super Markets will offer a coupon good for $1 off any admission, with two children admitted for $1. Bright banners, bearing the coats of arms of the barons who forced King John to agree to the terms of Magna Carta, will welcome visitors into the exhibition.
With spotlights illuminating the paintings and dazzling artifacts, such as the replica of King John’s sword, the low light levels throughout the Lionberger Gallery will protect the precious documents on view. Guarded by layers of bullet-proof glass, Magna Carta is housed in a stained white oak cabinet, equipped with alarms and a meter that sounds a warning should the light level rise above 10 foot candles. 561 years older than the Declaration of Independence, Magna Carta is written in Latin on vellum with oak gall ink.
It is one of four extinct originals dating from 1215 (two are in the British Museum, one is in Salisbury Cathedral) and is on loan from England’s Lincoln Cathedral. “My colleagues and I…believe that Magna Carta should be seen by as many people as possible,” said Oliver Fiennes, Dean of Lincoln. “The forerunner of so many American documents relating to liberty, it is exceptionally pertinent in the context of the Bicentennial of the American Constitution.” Alongside the original 1215 document, artifacts from England and America will augment the Magna Carta story: Roman and early medieval utensils of clay, bone and stone; a 13th century stained glass window; and a vellum illuminated manuscript Bible. Paintings will highlight individuals and events in the development of liberty under the law: Sir Edward Coke, Oliver Cromwell, John Smith, The Landing of the Pilgrams, The Signing of the Mayflower Compact, James Madison (by Thomas Sully), and George Washington (by Gilbert Stuart). Special emphasis will be placed on Missouri’s quest for liberty with drafts of the 1820 Missouri Constitution drawn up by William J. Pettus, the secretary to the Missouri Convention, and letters from the History Museum’s Thomas Jefferson collection. Other documents include a rare book by William Penn, and the Pinckney draft of the U.S. Constitution, on loan from the Library of Congress. Coordinated with the exhibition will be a series of public programs that will focus on the Anglo-American heritage of rule under the law enjoyed in the United States. (See the Calendar on page 3 for specific programs.) School groups from Missouri and Illinois visiting the exhibition will be offered interpretive tours by the education staff of the Missouri Historical Society.
In addition, a film festival is being coordinated with the exhibition. Films begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be introduced by a short commentary.
Admission is $2 per person, and popcorn and lemonade will be available.
The following films will be shown: Robin Hood (with Errol Flynn), commentary by Peter Michel (12/10); A Man for All Seasons, commentary by William Maltbey, chair, department of history, University of Missouri-St. Louis (12/17); Cromwell, commentary by Derek Hirst, history department, Washington University (1/7); 1776, commentary by Arthur Schaffer, department of history, University of Missouri-St. Louis (1/14); The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, commentary by Barbara Woods, Afro-American studies, St. Louis University (1/21); Absence of Malice, commentary by Patricia Rice, feature writer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, (1/28).
The group of organizations that make up Magna Carta in Missouri, responsible for bringing the exhibition to St. Louis, include the Missouri Historical Society; The English Speaking Union, St. Louis Chapter; the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis; the Winston Churchill Memorial and Westminster College; St. Louis Mercantile Library Association; and the American Jewish Congress, St. Louis Chapter.
Original photograph caption
King John Riding to the Hounds, manuscript illumination, courtesy of the British Library. From the exhibition, “Magna Carta: Liberty Under the Law,” at the History Museum in the Jefferson Memorial Building through January 31. The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, December 1987, page 2.
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, December 1987.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Archival transcription note: Source prints “four extinct originals” rather than “extant”; retained as printed, not endorsed as a factual description.
Original source: SD_Times1987_12.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.
