1899 Mormon Migration Print
GUEST:
My great-grandmother had it hanging in her parlor above the door. I guess she wanted to remember the immigration. Her husband was my great-grandfather, who did make that trek as a handcart pioneer when he was six years old.
APPRAISER:
I see. Was he with the first migration wave or...?
GUEST:
Uh, he came around, I believe, 1859.
APPRAISER:
Well, this is a wonderful piece of Salt Lake City history, certainly Mormon history, and I was really surprised to see the date here, 1899 is quite early for this kind of glossy picture, and of course, because it's a narrative picture and they were going east to west, well, naturally, we-we go and follow the line, and it shows where the first group of Mormons came to each location on a particular date. And these were true pioneers. It's just amazing what they went through and how they traveled all the way through this area and into this area, on to Pulpit Rock and into the Great Salt Lake. It's quite a piece of history. And not only do you have the documentation on the route, but you have this pictorial celebration of what's going on as well. Certainly the, the herds of buffalo. Talk about the fact that when they came out here, they survived on buffalo meat, and it was an important part of the, the economy. Many of them came in covered wagons. But then one of the most important things is this little depiction of those that pulled their possessions in a cart. And this is the kind of work that people just don't see anymore. The bird's-eye-view tradition was about at an end at the end of the 19th century, because the people making bird's-eye-views were put out of business by those who were doing aerial photography. There's some problems. The frame is a little banged up and all that,
GUEST:
Yes, it is.
APPRAISER:
but still, if I had this in my shop, I would have a price of about $1,800 on it.
GUEST:
Oh, wow. Thank you very much.
APPRAISER:
Oh, you're welcome.
GUEST:
I appreciate that.
APPRAISER:
Thanks for bringing it in. It's a pleasure to see it.
GUEST:
Thank you.
APPRAISER:
I don't think it's going back downstairs now.
(both laugh)
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