“Art is the Handmaid of Human Good”

The word “cool” is overused, misused, and generally abused, and so I’ll simply say I think it’s nifty that this is the inscription that graces the Seal of the City of Lowell, Massachusetts, hometown of Jack Kerouac.

He would have been familiar with it.

The Seal contains elements germane to Kerouac’s life and art—elements that figured into his memory of Lowell and informed his writing—a train, church, bridges, the Merrimack River—all of which contribute to his “Legend of Duluoz.” Note too that Kerouac spent time as a brakeman on the railroad.

A bit of history from the Lowell municipal website:

During the establishment of the ordinances of the City of Lowell issued in 1836, Chapter 33, Section 1, states that “The design hereunto annexed shall continue to be the device of the city seal, with the motto and inscription thereon.”

Several similar but slightly different seals appeared in various City publications and newspaper notices until 1891 when an “official” seal was needed for the construction of the new City Hall. The Commissioners decided to use the one recognized by the ordinances (Chapter 33, amended and adopted 1876 ordinances).

Symbolism of the Design

Centered on the Seal is a mill from whose chimneys are rising black clouds of smoke into a “horn of plenty,” intended to signify that Lowell’s mills are the foundation upon which her prosperity rests. At the bottom is a train and bales of cotton, signifying the cotton trade which led the City to become known as the “Spindle City.” At the left is the Merrimack River across which a bridge has been built; this is the Old Pawtucket Toll Bridge built in 1792. The Seal bears the inscription “Art is the Handmaid of Human Good,” which means that “Skill walks hand in hand with the good of the people.” The actual origin of the motto inscribed is unknown.