COLLECTION #264: Souvenirs of Salt Lake City/ Temple Square

Hey! I'm back! I haven't posted a collection on my blog for over 18 months, and a lot has happened in that time. We moved from California to New Jersey in September of 2012, and either sold, or put into storage, my precious collections.

But out here in our small apartment in New Jersey, I have managed to keep a collection or two, and this is a favorite that never ended up on my blog. So I'll share it with you now.

I collect Salt Lake City/ Temple Square related souvenirs. Love them! Love the awesome images of the Salt Lake City Mormon Temple (I'm a Mormon myself),
the spires and shape are just so iconic. I have postcards from the late 1800s and early 1900s, plates from the early 20th century, and even an awesome leather photo album from around that same time.  I've never lived in Salt Lake City, but it's kind of a center point for our family. We have relatives living there and nearby, and our family settled in Utah in the mid-1800s as Mormon pioneers. So, it's very symbolic of family for me. I hope you enjoy my treasures!

Three souvenir plates, the large one in the back and the pink one are Staffordshire.

Love that bronze Temple.

Souvenir booklets

Souvenir postcards and folders. The card on the bottom right is from the late 1800s. The temple took 40 years to build- it was begun in 1853, and dedicated in 1893.

I love the souvenir book of Salt Lake- there's no publication date, but from the looks of the ads, photos and text, it appears to be from around 1910.

These are missionaries' 'calling cards'. Up until about the 1980s, missionaries gave out these small cards with a photo of their favorite temple, as calling cards. The one on the bottom is my Aunt Elinor, who served a mission to New England in 1940-42.

Gotta love the copper ash tray, with the temple prominently displayed on the upper right. 

COLLECTION #218: Vintage Children's Friend Magazines from the '30s and '40s

I shared with you last week, some of my vintage LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon) magazines from the early part of the 20th century. Today, I have a collection of Children's Friend magazines from the 1930s and 1940s. The Children's Friend was the Church's publication for children, leaders and teachers. Today, it is called the Friend, and is one of the longest lasting publications in the USA. We always had the Children's Friend in our home growing up, and I remember it from even before I was old enough to read, since my older siblings had their copies. Later, when I became a professional illustrator, my first illustrations were published in the Friend, and I have contributed illustrations as recently as five years ago. So, it's always had a warm spot in my heart.

Typical of children's magazines of the era, the Children's Friend was filled with stories, puzzles, activities, arts and crafts, and photos of children far and wide, participating in church activities. Next week I'll share with you my collection of Children's Friend magazines from the 1950s and '60s.

For those of you who are LDS, you will note a photo and name of Mildred T. Pettit on the left photo on the page above: she is the composer of the children's song, "I Am a Child of God".

COLLECTION #101: Old Mormon Missionary Tracts

These old missionary tracts from the 1920s and 1930s were in my Grandfather's possessions when my husband and I acquired my grandparent's home when we were first married. They are fun to look at, and to read, and are important treasures to me. As a former missionary myself, it's fun to see the type of literature the missionaries used to leave behind.... other than the graphics, not much different from the brochures we used in the early '70s. At least one of these belonged to my Uncle Harold, who was a missionary in the 1930s. His name is written inside the cover of the Mr. Durant one, and I plan on presenting it to his sons who are coming to visit us on Sunday.

It's also interesting to see the names and locations of the different Missions in the United States in that era: today there are more missions in California than there were in the entire United States in 1930. We have well over 100 missions in the US today.