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| 0014 Salt Lake Temple in Christmas night |
Posted on 22.10.2011, 05.11.2016
Brigham Young and the first band of Mormon pioneers (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) reached the Salt Lake Valley, back then a Mexican territory, on July 24, 1847. Over the next 22 years, more than 70,000 pioneers crossed the plains and settled in Utah. The arid desert land was deemed by the Mormons as desirable as a place where they could practice their religion without harassment. One may say that they were the founders of the Utah Territory, and then of The State of Utah.
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| 2853 Salt Lake Temple in the time of the night |
Even today Utah is the most religiously homogeneous state in the Union (in 2012, 62.2% of Utahns are reported to be members of LDS Church). Home to the headquarters of the LDS Church and Temple Square, Salt Lake City was historically considered a holy city by members of the LDS church; Brigham Young called it a "Kingdom of Heaven on Earth". Today, however, less than half the population of Salt Lake City proper are members of the LDS Church.
Salt Lake Temple, the largest of more than 140 temples of LDS Church, incorporates many symbolic adornments, similar to other LDS temples around the world. The architect was Truman O. Angell, and the temple is said to feature both Gothic and Romanesque elements. The walls are quartz monzonite from Little Cottonwood Canyon, located 32km southeast of the temple site. Oxen transported the quarried rock initially, but as the Transcontinental Railroad neared completion in 1869 the remaining stones were carried by rail at a much faster rate.
The location for the temple was first marked by Brigham Young on July 28, 1847, just four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley. During the Utah War (1857-1858), the foundation of the temple was buried and made to look like a plowed field to prevent attention from the federal troops. The Angel Moroni statue was laid in 1892. Wilford Woodruff, the church's fourth president, dedicated the temple on April 6, 1893, exactly forty years after the cornerstone was laid.
About the stamps
On the postcard 0014
The first stamp, depicting Gregory Peck (1916-2003), is the first forever stamp in the United States Postal Service's Legends of Hollywood series, about which I wrote here. It was unveiled in ceremony at motion picture academy and features Peck in his Oscar-winning role as the benevolent widowed Southern attorney and father Atticus Finch in the 1962 classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Peck died in 2003 at 87, so that to the ceremony attended his wife, Veronique Peck, his three children and several grandchildren.
The second stamp is part of a definitives series, titled American Design (2002-2007). Reflecting the rich diversity of American design, the series showcases objects from various areas, regions and ethnic cultures that combine utility with beauty and function with form. The American Design series replaces the 1981-1995 Transportation series and consist of six stamps:
• Tiffany Lamp (1c / 2002, reissued on March 7, 2008) - depict a work of Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), a designer who transformed everyday objects into works of art. Considered one of the greatest designers of glass in his era, Tiffany is also remembered as a leader in the art nouveau movement - It's on the postcard 0805
• Navajo Necklace (2c / August 20, 2004, reissued on 2011) - depict a detail of a necklace, made during the 1940s or 1950s and owned by a private collector. This is a popular style of silver and turquoise necklace, termed a "squash blossom necklace", which is based upon a Spanish-Mexican trouser ornament that was a stylized representation of a pomegranate blossom - It's on the postcard 0805
• Silver Coffeepot (3c / 2007) - depict a watercolor and gouache painting of a pear-shaped silver coffeepot with a carved wood handle. It was made circa 1786 in Philadelphia and acquired by The Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1986 - It's on the postcard 0955
• Chippendale Chair (4c / March 5, 2004, reissued on January 19, 2012) - the Chippendale style of furniture came to be in the United States during the Colonial time period from about 1750 to 1780, and was named after London cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale’s work - It's on the postcard 0973
• American Toleware (5c / May 31, 2002) - depict a painted detail of a black toleware coffeepot. Toleware is japanned (varnished) or painted tinware fashioned into a variety of objects. This coffeepot, probably manufactured in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) between 1850 and 1875, is now in the collection of the Winterthur Museum in Delaware - It's on the postcard 0441
• American Clock (10c / January 24, 2003, reissued on August 04, 2006) - depict a clock made circa 1805 by Simon Willard, later called a banjo clock because of its shape. The clock's stylist shape, polished metal fittings, and decorative glass panels appealed to consumers and made it one of the most famous designs in American clockmaking.- It's on the postcard 0014
The third stamp (a forever one) belongs to the fifth set of the series Flags of Our Nation series, continued this year by The US Postal Service with ten stamps issued on 11 August 2011:
• the flag of Ohio - It's on the postcard 0014
• the flag of Oklahoma
• the flag of Oregon
• the flag of Pennsylvania
• the flag of Rhode Island
• the flag of South Carolina
• the flag of South Dakota
• the flag of Tennessee
• the flag of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
• the flag of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
On the postcard 2853
The stamp is part of the series Star Trek, issued on September 02, 2016 to celebrating the 50th anniversary of the premiere of this television series. These forever stamps (designed by Heads of State under the art direction of Antonio Alcalá) showcase four digital illustrations inspired by classic elements of the television program:
• the Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia against a gold background
• the silhouette of a crewman in a transporter against a red background
• the silhouette of the Enterprise from above against a green background - It's on the postcard 2853
• the Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute (Spock’s iconic hand gesture) against a blue background
References
Salt Lake Temple - Wikipedia
Sender 0014: Michael Cleverly (direct swap)
Sent from Kaysville (Utah / United States), on 15.10.2011
Sender 2853: Bridgettt (postcrossing) US-4318955
Sent from Salt lake City (Utah / United States), on 29.10.2016
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