Alvaro Mendonca

A picture is worth a thousand words. This phrase emerged in the USA in the early part of the 20th century. Its introduction is widely attributed to Frederick R. Barnard, who published a piece commending the effectiveness of graphics in advertising with the title "One look is worth a thousand words", in Printer's Ink, December 1921. Barnard claimed the phrase's source to be oriental by adding "so said a famous Japanese philosopher, and he was right". Printer's Ink printed another form of the phrase in March 1927, this time suggesting a Chinese origin: "Chinese proverb. One picture is worth ten thousand words." [www.phrases.org.uk]