Columbus Mural, Notre Dame University, South Bend, IN - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

The latter part of the nineteenth century and the early part of the twentieth century was the heyday of world’s fairs. They were being held almost every year all over Europe, America and throughout the British Empire. The 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago, was one of the largest of these fairs. As its name implies, the exposition was held in conjunction with the 400th anniversary of the voyages of Christopher Columbus. The Post Office Department, which hadn’t commemorated any event (historical or otherwise) on a postage stamp up to that point, did so in a big way: a complete series of 16 stamps and a set of pre-stamped envelopes.

Each of the 16 stamps in the series depicts a different event which occurred during Columbus’ transatlantic voyages. The designs were based on various contemporary paintings and sculptures. Some of these are located in the U.S. Capitol, some in museums or private collections and some have been lost to posterity. The design of the 10c value is based on a mural found on the campus of Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana.

In 1874, Notre Dame University brought Vatican portrait artist Luigi Gregori from Rome to the United States to serve as a kind of artist-in-residence. The desire was to have Gregori adorn the various churches and buildings on campus with quality artwork. When fire destroyed the university’s main building in 1879, Gregori was asked to create fresco-like murals for the interior hallways and dome of the new administrative building. These were created between 1882 and 1884 and had the theme of Christopher Columbus and his voyages. The largest of these was called “Return of Columbus and Reception at Court.” This is the mural depicted on the stamp.

Stamp Issuing Country: United States Date of Issue: 2-Jan-1893 Denomination: 10 cents Color: black brown Stamp Type: Single Stamp Relevant Web Site: Not listed

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