Here are two maximum cards featuring the Gettysburg Address stamp that was issued on November 19, 1948. The issue date was exactly 85 years from the date Abraham Lincoln made his most famous speech at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The first card shows the Lincoln Speech Memorial at Gettysburg. The second postcards has the text* of the speech.
November 19, 1863 was four and a half months after Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. November 19, 2013 is the sesquicentennial (150 years) anniversary of the Gettysburg Address.
Beginning with the now-iconic phrase "Four score and seven years ago," referring to the Declaration of Independence, written at the start of the American Revolution in 1776, Lincoln examined the founding principles of the United States in the context of the Civil War, and memorialized the sacrifices of those who gave their lives at Gettysburg and extolled virtues for the listeners (and the nation) to ensure the survival of America's representative democracy, that "government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." (source: Wikipedia)
* There are five known manuscript copies of the Gettysburg Address that are each named for the associated person who received it from Lincoln. The versions differ in their wording, punctuation, and structure. The Bliss copy, named for Colonel Alexander Bliss, has become the standard version of the text and the source for most facsimile reproductions of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.
Makes me wanna watch that badass Lincoln (where he's a vampire slayer) movie again!
ReplyDeleteWhat movie is that?
DeleteI did not know the speech was given in the soldiers cemetery and not on the battlefield. The stamp goes well with the coloured cards.
ReplyDeleteWonderful maxi-cards. It's a shame that the stamp on the second card has to cover some of the speech, but in a way that makes it more interesting as someone specifically created it.
ReplyDeleteFantastic maxi-cards. I am so jealous.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, the Vampire slayer movie was something else.
I do like the linen style cards, esp. the first one. And I thought there was only one manuscript copy of the speech - the original. You learn something new everyday.
ReplyDeletethank you for participating!
The cancellation on the fist card, while not exciting, neatly encircles Lincoln's bust.
ReplyDeletemaxi cards are very interesting, especially those that feature those remarkable moments in history, like this one. thanks for the bit of trivia about the Gettysburg Address, i did not know it has several copies and that it was actually given in a cemetery.
ReplyDeleteG;ad you included the video as well so I could see and hear all the speech, An historic stamp.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the history lesson! Great post...blogging forward...grew up in land of Lincoln...
ReplyDelete