(reprinted and revised version)
A casual visitor to Brecon in South
Wales, UK, might be tempted to visit the Brecon Cathedral, parts of which go
back over nine hundred years. One of the exhibits in it, dedicated to a local
dignitary, is a painting called “Peace, and a little child shall lead them.”
The artist was William Strutt (1825-1915) although the caption in the cathedral
only names the donors! It was painted in 1896. The picture was based on Isaiah
11 and the animals from left to right are in the order as described in
scripture.
This has a connection of sorts with the
Photodrama of Creation. Here is one of the original slides from the Photodrama.
This was reproduced in the scenario, and was also later used by Frederick
Lardent in his Bible Student motto card series, as card number L-9. The motto
card is not as colorful and the circle is a bit smaller.
The Photodrama spawned a series of
postcards. A set of 40 cards was advertised in The Watch Tower in 1917 (see
reprints page 6077). Many readers will have seen these sets and they are
probably online somewhere as well. Although the set was numbered 1-40, a couple
of later numbers have been discovered. Below are cards 44 and 47b.
Looking
at all the reproductions above, these are actually four different pictures.
It’s a case of spot the difference.
Why
did they keep on redrawing (not always very successfully) this particular
picture? It may have been a copyright issue originally. Strutt complained
before he died that his own copyright had expired and he was making no money
from the picture. However, a lithograph of the picture was widely marketed and
numerous homes had it on their walls. Perhaps that version was still under
copyright. However, it still doesn’t explain the Society’s repeated attempts at
pastiche to portray the same scene.
It
is not the most important research question in the world, but a curiosity. And
while we are touching on the official Photodrama series, does anyone have
details of any other Photodrama postcards higher than 40? There is a card
numbered 47a which has a woman on a veranda overlooking a paradise scene with
animals captioned PAX, but apart from that and 44 and 47b reproduced above, I
have never seen any others higher than 40.
When
the original artist Strutt died his grave marker carried the inscription
“Painter of Peace.” A highly prolific artist in his day this was to be his main
legacy.
Personal
Note
Anyone tempted to visit the Brecon Cathedral should be aware that they employ a particularly aggressive company to manage the car parking. The machine took my money but did not spit out a ticket. Having been photographed entering and leaving the car park (not in dispute) I was accused of not paying (very much in dispute). I demanded a print-out of their records for the actual time I was there to see what showed up, and they declined on the grounds of data protection. I therefore declined to pay the “fine.” Correspondence and threats went back and forth for several months before I “won.” I doubt I will be visiting Brecon Cathedral again.
Note
Anyone interested in the varieties of postcard used should read the comment trail from Mike C.
Some advanced collectors feel certain that the cards used in the Photodrama all came from a larger set entitled, "Biblia Illustrata". There are around 70 cards in the Biblia Illustrata set.
ReplyDeleteQUESTION
posed to top collector by Mike C: I need your help as I am trying to understand what additional Photodrama of Creation postcards were Watchtower issued in the foreign countries of France, Denmark or Germany. I know about the numbered postcards 41 thru 47B and those are definitely legit and Watchtower issued.
But I have seen other cards that say "Biblia Illustrata" across the back of the postcard like 41 thru 47 which say "IN TERRA PAX". There look exactly like they were made by the same manufacturer as the Watchtower set 1 thru 47. But these postcards have different Bible scenes. Are these Biblia Illustrata postcards officially issued by the Watchtower in the 3 countries I mentioned above? Or are they part of a larger set from which the Watchtower postcards were selected and that set was entitled: Biblia Illustrata? I will send a picture of the backs of the cards so you can see what I mean.
ANSWER
I know the following sets with WT inscription:
Photo-Drame de la Creation (French 32 cards, Zurich)
Photo-Drama of Creation (English, 43 cards, Made in Switzerland) black and white frame
Photo-Drama der Schöpfung (German 32 cards, Zurich) black frame
Die Schöpfung im Bilde (German 40 cards, Zurich) black and white frame
Die Schöpfung im Bilde (German 43 cards, Barmen) black and white frame
further a Swedish set with IBSA on the back, as it does not state the numbers I do not know how many cards it comprised
We had two sets of In Terra Pax 6 postcards ea., one with O.A. Koetitz/Barmen and one with Watch Tower Barmen. They all have black frames.
There is another set that states Zaugg-Huber in Berne as publisher, who was a brother. But everybody wonders why they do not have any texts on the back.
However, there are two other publishers of cards with same front but without Studies advertising etc. on the back, both located in Switzerland.
There are several In Terra Pax cards in Danish and French which also do not state any reference to the Society.
On the Biblia Illustrata, there are several sets in French and German which differ in their backs. Some of them state longer explanations of the bible, others only state the title. None of them states any reference to the Society. And nobody knows how many different numbers existed. My set is running from no.1-67 (unfortunately few numbers missing)
What all these cards have in common? They exactly show the artwork we know from the Photo-Drama. And all were made in Switzerland...
"The motto card is not as colorful and the circle is a bit smaller" - The card following the words is in the Polish 7 volume on page 711. But it is not in color.
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