JayFelty
  Junior Member

Paraphrased and plagiarized from Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906), a Norwegian playwright who wrote the play “Ghosts” 1881, “A thousand words leave not the same deep impression as does a single deed.”

In March 1911, “The Post-Standard” quoted Arthur Brisbane as saying, “Use a picture. It's worth a thousand words.”

Fred R. Barnard in the 1921 “Printers’ Ink” advertising wrote, “One Look Is Worth a Thousand Words.” He attributed the saying to Japanese philosophy. Again, in a 1927 “Printers’ Ink” advertising, he modified both the saying and the source, “Chinese Proverb: One Picture Is Worth Ten Thousand Words.” The amalgamation of two slightly different quotes leaves us with, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

However, the first use of the current phase was in a 1918 newspaper advertisement for the “San Antonio Light,” “One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words.” more »