“The Nightmare Before Christmas” movie

Posted on October 7, 2013 by barbara

One of our favorite family traditions at Halloween every year is watching “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. I must be honest and say that when I first saw the movie I did not like it but over the years I have come to enjoy this quirky movie by Tim Burton. When we lived in California, we also went every year to see the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland when it received the annual “Nightmare Before Christmas” overlay with the characters of Jack Skellington, Zero, Sally and Oogie featured throughout the attraction. (Please see the post, Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, for more information on this iconic attraction)

Tim Burton was born in Burbank, CA in 1958 and as a teenager he started making short films using the stop motion animation technique. After graduating from Burbank High School, Burton studied at the California Institute of the Arts located in Valencia, CA. Founded and created by Walt Disney in the early 1960s the university, known as CalArts, was created specifically for the visual and performing arts which Disney used as a resource for their future employees. Interestingly, some of Burton’s classmates were John Lasseter and Henry Selick.

Eventually Burton went to work as a Disney animator and in 1982 he had some mild success with an animated six minute stop action short film called “Vincent”. At this same time, Burton wrote a three page poem, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Disney had considered developing the idea into a short film or possibly a television special. In 1984 Burton’s next film was a live action short called “Frankwnweenie” but shortly after the film was completed Disney thought Burton’s work was too dark and scary for children which was Disney’s target audience and he left the company. Burton went on to direct such Warner Bros. films as “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (1985), “Beetlejuice” (1988), “Batman” (1989), and the 20th Century Fox film “Edward Scissorhands” (1990).

During those years, Burton kept returning to the story of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” but Disney still owned the film rights. Finally in 1990 Burton entered into an agreement to produce a full length feature film but due to the darker theme of the film, Walt Disney Pictures had decided to release the movie under their more mature movie division, Touchstone Pictures. Burton’s old classmate from CalArts, Henry Selick, was the film’s director and Danny Elfman, who Burton had worked with since 1984 on his previous films, collaborated on the storyline and co-wrote the songs for the movie.

By 1991 Selick had organized a team of animators and began the complicated and long production of the stop action film with a crew of 120 workers using 20 sound stages in San Francisco, CA. To film the movie they had created 227 puppets for the various characters in the movie. Just for the character of Jack Skellington there were over four hundred heads to allow for every possible facial expression, emotion and head position. The movement of Sally’s mouth was animated later through a different process utilizing ten different types of faces each with a series of various expressions and synchronized mouth movements. By this time Burton was involved in a previous commitment to film “Batman Returns” (1992) and preproduction for his next film “Ed Wood” (1994). According to Selick, because of Burton involvement with the other movies he rarely visited the set of “The Nightmare Before Christmas” during the two years it took to complete the principal filming of the movie.

The movie was released in 1993 and includes a cast of characters with the voices of Chris Sarandon as Jack Skellington (Danny Elfman provides the singing voice of Jack), Catherine O’Hara as Sally, William Hickey as Doctor Kinklestein, Ed Ivory as Santa Claus and Ken Page as Oogie Boogie. Although the movie received positive reviews for originality it only had limited success due to the darker and quirky style of storytelling. With the DVD release of the film in 1997 and the wonderful CD soundtrack of songs co-written by Burton and Elfman, the movie has become a popular with the general public and has proven to be a new Halloween classic.

With this increase in the movie’s popularity Disney Imagineers decided to take a chance and starting in 2001 the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland receives a seasonal overlay that blends the settings and characters of the original attraction and “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. The Haunted Mansion in New Orleans Square closes for two weeks in September to be converted into “The Haunted Mansion Holiday” attraction. “The Haunted Mansion Holiday” runs from mid September to early January then the attraction closes to have the overlay removed.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” synopsis

As the movie starts we are introduced to Halloween Town which is filled with ghosts, vampires, werewolves, witches and other monsters. Jack Skellington, also known as the Pumpkin King, is the center of the Halloween celebration but he is growing tired of the same routine every year. While wandering in the forest he accidentally finds a portal to Christmas Town and Jack is fascinated with this new holiday. He loves the feeling of Christmas and the idea of Santa Claus with all the gift giving traditions. Jack decides to bring the ideas of Christmas back to Halloween Town.

Back in Halloween Town there is a rag doll women named Sally that was created by a mad scientist. Sally has begun to fall in love with Jack, but she thinks his idea of Christmas will be disastrous. Jack enlists the help of a trio of children named Lock, Shock and Barrel to kidnap the real Santa and bring him back to Halloween Town. Instead the trio brings Santa to Oogie Boogie who is a bogeyman with a fondness for gambling and Oogie decides to play a game with Santa’s life and he is in terrible danger.

When Christmas Eve arrives and Jack finds out Santa is missing he decides to return to Christmas Town and Sally tries to stop Jack. But Jack, now dressed as Sandy Claws, leaves on a sleigh made from a coffin pulled by a skeletal reindeer which is actually his ghost dog named Zero. Sandy Claws starts to deliver presents which are not lovely gifts but scary things like shrunken heads and Christmas tree eating snakes that terrify the children. Christmas Town is on alert and the military hunts Sandy Claws down while he is flying in his make-shift sleigh. After the crash, news gets back to Halloween Town that Jack (Sandy Claws) is presumed dead.

Somehow Jack survives the crash and lands the cemetery. He is sad that his Christmas plan has failed but his spirit is renewed when he begins to make new and exciting plans for next Halloween. Finding out that the missing Santa is being held by Oogie Boogie and that when Sally tries to rescue Santa but she also gets captured, Jack tries to save them both. Unfortunately, Oogie attacks Jack with metal playing card that keep popping up but Oogie is finally defeated and everybody is saved.

Afterwards, Santa reprimands Jack for almost ruining Christmas. As Santa leaves Halloween Town he makes the snow fall to show that there are no hard feelings towards Jack. The town’s people are at first confused by the snow (they have never seen it before) but then they begin to play in the snow and are very happy. Then, Jack notices that Sally is heading towards the graveyard and he follows her and finally reveals that he loves her too. The last scene ends with the couple kissing on the top of a large hill in the cemetery with a full moon behind them.

The Queen’s Jewelry Collection (Part One)

Posted on September 26, 2013 by barbara

Over the past months there have been two posts that discussed the Crown Jewels of England, Part One and Part Two. Part One detailed the Royal Regalia which is used in the Coronation of the British Monarch and Part Two had information on some of the other items within the Crown Jewels collection, such as Queen Victoria’s small diamond crown and the Queen Mother’s crown with the famous 105 carat Koh-I-Nor diamond. (yes, the diamond is that large!) This post will detail some of the items in the Queen’s personal collection; such as the George IV State Diadem, several beautiful tiaras and other pieces of lovely jewelry that have been passed down within the royal family.

By definition the British Monarch’s Jewels are a collection of tiaras, necklaces, earrings and brooches that are part of their personal collection. Queen Elizabeth II is the current British Monarch and for her coronation in 1953 she wore St. Edward’s Crown and for the annual State Opening of Parliament she wears the Imperial State Crown. (for more information about these two crowns please see Crown Jewels – Part One) According to tradition, the Crown Jewels never leave England, so when the Queen travels to another country she will wear one of several tiaras from her personal collection. In addition to a variety of beautiful tiaras, the Queen also has a lovely selection of necklaces, earrings and brooches that she will wear while attending the daily events on her royal calendar.

Listed below are some of the items from the Queen’s personal collection:

The George IV State Diadem

The George IV State Diadem was made in 1820 for the coronation of King George IV. The diadem includes 1333 diamonds, including a four-carat yellow diamond and 169 pearls, the circular frame alternates between crosses and a floral design which incorporate roses, thistles and shamrocks which are the symbols of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The diadem was later worn by Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV. Queen Victoria inherited it in 1837 and she wore it at her coronation during the recessional from Westminster Abbey. Upon her death in 1901 the diadem was passed to a secession of Queen consorts; Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. The diadem was worn by Queen Elizabeth II for her coronation on the procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey and it is now part of the Queen’s Personal Jewel Collection. The diadem is one of the most easily recognizable items of the collection since it is worn by Queen Elizabeth in the image on the postage stamps, coins and currency of England; it is also worn in the annual procession from Buckingham Palace to the State Opening of Parliament.

Queen Mary’s Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara

In 1893, this tiara was given to Princess Victoria Mary of Teck on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of York, the future King George. Funds were privately raised and it was given by the “girls of Great Britain and Ireland” as a gift to the future Queen Mary. (hence the name of the tiara!)

The tiara is circular in form with diamonds pave set in silver and gold. Originally the tiara had 14 large oriental pearls at each top; in 1914 Queen Mary adapted the tiara to use 13 large diamonds instead of the pearls for a slight change. The tiara can also be worn as a necklace. Queen Elizabeth wears this tiara often and can be is seen wearing it in the images on the paper currency and coins of Great Britain.

Queen Mary’s Fringe Tiara

Known by several different names, such as the Hanoverian Fringe Tiara and King Georg III Fringe Tiara, the history of this tiara can be rather confusing. The piece started as a diamond fringe necklace owned by Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV, made with diamonds formerly owned by King George III and Queen Charlotte. The necklace was inherited by Queen Victoria and passed down within the royal family. Queen Mary had the fringe necklace remade into a tiara.

Later, Queen Mary decided to combine this fringe tiara with diamonds from a necklace that Queen Victoria gave her as a wedding present. The royal jeweler, Garrard, was brought in make a new tiara that used elements of these two pieces. The new tiara now included 47 bars of diamonds with smaller diamond spikes, the new piece can be converted into a necklace. In 1936, Queen Mary gave the tiara to her daughter-in-law Princess Elizabeth, the Duchess of York (the future Queen Consort of King George VI and later the Queen Mother).

The Queen Mother lent it to her daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II, to wear on her wedding day in 1947. The tiara broke but was quickly repaired and in photographs taken that day the tiara can be seen looking a little off-centered. The Queen Mother also lent the tiara to her granddaughter, Princess Anne, to wear on her wedding day in 1973. The Queen Mother wore the tiara frequently over the years and when she died in 2002 the tiara was inherited by Queen Elizabeth II.

Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara

In 1914 Queen Mary commissioned Garrard to recreate the tiara of Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, her maternal grandmother, who was the Duchess of Cambridge. According to her will, when Queen Mary died she left the tiara to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. The tiara was later given to Diana, Princess of Wales, as a wedding present and she who wore often. After her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996 the tiara was returned to the Queen.

The tiara is French Neo-Classical in a design which features 19 openwork frames of diamonds in the form of arches with 19 graduated large pearl drops. At the top of each arch are lover’s knot bows with a large diamond at the center.

The Grand Duchess Vladimir Tiara

The Grand Duchess Vladimir, Maria Pavlovna, was the wife of the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexanrovich and the aunt of the Tsar Nicholas II of Russia. The tiara was created specifically for her in 1874 by the Russia royal jewelers and was a semi-circular band made of platinum with a design consisting of fifteen interlaced circles set with diamonds and a band of diamonds across the top with pearls drops and small diamonds mounted inside each of the circles.

With the start of the Russian Revolution in 1917, many Russian royalty members including the Grand Duchess fled the country but most of her fabulous jewels were hidden in a secret vault in the Palace. Sadly, Tsar Nicholas and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918. The Grand Duchess lived exiled from Russia first in Venice, Italy and later she moved to the south of France. Her jewels, including the tiara were eventually smuggled of out Russia by a trusted British diplomat and returned to the Grand Duchess. When she died in 1920 her jewels and the tiara were given to her daughter, the Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirona, who married Prince Nicholas of Greece. As the family’s vast fortune was reduced, she sold several pieces of jewelry, including the tiara, to Queen Mary in 1921.

By this time the tiara was in very poor condition and in need of repairs. The tiara was refurbished by Garrard, the royal jewelers, and Queen Mary decided to make the original teardrop pearls interchangeable with her famous Cambridge emeralds. When Queen Mary died in 1953, the Vladimir Tiara was given to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth wears this versatile tiara frequently and it is also one of her favorites, sometimes she will wear it with the original pearl drops, sometimes with the Cambridge emeralds and she has even worn the tiara with no pendants at all.

Cartier Halo Tiara

This tiara was made by Cartier in 1939 and purchased by the Duke of York, the future King George VI, for his wife the Duchess of York. The tiara is designed in the form of a band with 16 graduated scrolls set with 888 diamonds.

As Queen Elizabeth, the consort of King George, she wore the tiara several times over the years before presenting it to her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, for her 18th birthday. When King George died in 1952 Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth II and for her 1953 coronation, the tiara was loaned to her sister, Princess Margaret to wear. The tiara was loaned most recently to Catherine Middleton for her wedding to Prince William in 2011.

The Prince Albert Sapphire Brooch

The day before their wedding in 1840, Prince Albert gave Queen Victoria a beautiful sapphire and diamond brooch. The center stone is a large oblong blue sapphire surrounded by twelve round diamonds and set in gold, the size of the sapphire has never been confirmed but it is estimated to be between 20-30 carats.

After Prince Albert’s death in 1861, the brooch became a very sentimental to Queen Victoria and she wore is very often for during her long life. When Queen Victoria died in 1901, this important historical brooch was given to the British Crown. Several Queen Consorts have worn the brooch over the years including the present Queen Elizabeth II.

“Granny’s Chips” – the Cullinan III & IV Diamonds

The Cullinan Diamond was found in South Africa and presented to King Edward Vii on the occasion of his birthday in XXXX. Several stones were cut from this massive diamond, two of those were the pear shaped 94.4 carat Cullinan IIII and the square shaped 63.6 carat Cullinan IV. Queen Mary had both these stones made into a brooch and they became known collectively as “Granny’s Chips”. When she died in 1953, the most of her jewelry collection, including the brooch, was passed onto Queen Elizabeth II.

The combined weight of the two stones when worn as a brooch can be very heavy. During her reign the Queen has worn the brooch only for very special occasions, the most recent time was for her Diamond Jubilee celebration in 2013. The beautiful brooch has great significant historical value and it is considered one of the most priceless items in the Queen’s Personal Jewel Collection.

For more information about the Queen’s Personal Jewelry Collection, please click on the link to Part Two. Also, if you are interested in more information about the Royal Family and their jewels, please click on the links to the following posts: The Crown Jewels (Part One and Part Two) and the Cambridge Emeralds.

“The Rock Guy”

Posted on September 16, 2013 by barbara

Hello again, it’s Jeff. Today is National Collect Rocks Day (yes, there is such a thing!), and I will be writing about my rock collection. I have been fascinated by rocks since I was a kid and I think I have a very nice collection of different rocks and minerals. When we travel across the United States of our annual road trips I am always on the look-out for a rock shop … I can spend hours just looking in those stores (can you hear Barbara and Cassandra groaning just thinking about rock shops?).

When Barbara asked me to write a post about my rocks my first thought was making a presentation similar to what I have done a couple of times for Cassandra’s classes over the years. When she was in 4^th grade and again in 7^th grade I took a portion of my collection to the school and showed it to the Science classes. That’s where I got the name “The Rock Guy”. I have had kids come up to me years later and ask what a particular rock was. Quite an honor! While it was a lot of fun and I hope the kids learned a lot, an educational presentation doesn’t really fit with the style of Barbara’s blog. I thought I would talk about some of my favorites, why they are my favorites (even though it should be obvious), how I got them and any other tips I might have for you.

The first tip I have is one I learned from Barbara. It is if you have cool stuff, you really need to display it. What good are beautiful and interesting things if they are stored away in boxes in the attic? Barbara has touched on this in her post Decor – Displaying Travel Souvenirs. What you can’t see in the pictures of that post are the shelves to the left and right which have glass doors and contain my mineral treasures (although you can see some of my petrified wood on those shelves). Be forewarned though, displaying your treasures takes a lot of space. If you are not committed to the cause it is better not to get started!

One of my favorite groups of minerals are the different forms of pyrite, more commonly known as “Fools Gold”. It can be found in a number of natural forms and shapes, such as in cubes, spheres and my personal favorite the pyrite sun.

All of these were purchased at museum shops which brings me to my second tip. While it would be wonderful to have the giant, colorful, beautiful specimens like they have in museums there is a reason they are in those museums – they are rare and EXPENSIVE. To have something like that you need a lot of money and space to display them properly. I like to focus on smaller samples that are more affordable. Here are a few of my samples, not that big, but I enjoy looking at them.

Another of my favorite rocks types is granite and if you haven’t figured it out already, I have several HUGE specimens in my house. Where do you ask? My kitchen! When we remodeled our kitchen we went to this warehouse and got to look through hundreds of slabs of granite. We chose a Persian granite for the top of our island. I never get tired of looking at the different minerals and crystals there. We also have some granite we got from Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Not polished and the crystal structures are much smaller than our counter top, but cool none the less.

I am always looking for rocks and minerals. I found a beautiful piece of rose quartz on the side of the road in the Black Hills and some great slate in Kentucky, but I get most of my specimens in stores. Sometimes I get lucky, like when we were in Arizona one year and we had stopped for gas. I went in to see if they had a bathroom and found that the owner was selling petrified wood collected off of private property. I got these great pieces at a fraction of the cost than if I had bought them at the gift shop in the National Park.

I got this gypsum rose from a store in New Mexico that sold all kinds of stuff. It only cost me $12! What a find! I found one for sale on eBay about half the size for $90. I purchased this salt crystal at 75% off from a store in the mall that was going out of business. It is actually a lamp, but I pulled the bulb and this is how I display it.

My favorite deal was purchased in a small shop in the Black Hills in the off season. The store owner had just received a shipment of amethyst cathedrals and I purchased one for $128. An amethyst cathedral is a geode (hollow rock) lined with purple crystals. One of my more expensive purchases, but similar cathedrals sell for $400 – $600 each. The main rules are keep your eyes open and, most importantly, know what you are buying so you pay a fair price. If you have a smartphone you can always look up what you are looking at to make sure it is a good deal.

In closing, I want to thank Barbara for a number of things. First that she let me share some of my passion for rocks with you on her blog. Second, that she lets me buy them, pick them up and more importantly that she displays them so we can enjoy them.

Let me know if you have any questions or want to see any additional pictures. I would love to receive your comments. If you really want to help me out you can lobby Barbara to let me get something like is described here! If not that, maybe just a trip to BLM lands in Utah.

Sincerely,

Jeff Jones

The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

Posted on September 11, 2013 by barbara

2022 marks the 70th anniversary of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. To put this into perspective, her great great grandmother Queen Victoria reigned for 64 years from 1837 to 1901. In this post, to honor this historic milestone, I will describe the various parts of the coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II that took place in Westminster Abbey on June 2, 1953.

The Accession and Preparations for the Coronation

Upon the death of King George VI on February 6, 1952, his daughter, Elizabeth ascended to the throne and be proclaimed queen by the Privy Council. The formal coronation ceremony was not held until one year later since the festivities would be deemed inappropriate during the period of mourning that follows the death of the monarch. The coronation ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II was held more than a year after her accession.

In April 1952 the coronation committee, under the chairmanship of Prince Phillip the Duke of Edinburgh was formed to plan the coronation ceremony. The coronation was scheduled to take place on June 2, 1953 which would allow for 16 months of preparation time. Westminster Abbey was closed for several months while construction crews prepared the exterior and interior. Viewing stands were also built along the route from Buckingham Palace to the Abbey.

Sadly just a few weeks before the coronation day Queen Mary, the grandmother of Queen Elizabeth, died on March 24, 1953. Normally, there would be a long mourning period and the coronation would have been postponed for several months but according to the wishes expressed in the dowager Queen’s will she stated that her death should not affect the planned coronation and the event should precede as scheduled.

Rehearsals involving all participants were held in the days prior to the coronation date. Key members that would participate in the coronation rehearsed the different parts of the ceremony and the Queen took part in two full dress rehearsals just days before the coronation date. She had practiced the procession back at the palace with her maids of honor carrying a long sheet instead of the coronation robe that was being specially made for the occasion. The Queen also wore the Imperial State Crown during the days leading up to the event so that she could get used to the heavy weight of the crown.

The Coronation Ceremony

On coronation day in 1953 approximately three million people gathered on the streets of London. Journalists came from around the world to report on the festivities leading up to the coronation and for the first time in history the BBC was going to broadcast the coronation ceremony to more than twenty million viewers around the world. There had been considerable debate within the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Winston Churchill was opposed to the idea but Queen Elizabeth insisted that the event should be filmed for television.

The coronation ceremony for the monarch of England has taken place in Westminster Abbey since William I was crowned in 1066. At the time of his coronation centuries ago there was an older smaller church on the present site in the City of Westminster (London) prior to the building of the current large gothic cathedral. Most people will recognize Westminster Abbey as the place where Prince William married Catherine Middleton in April 2011.

Prior to the arrival of the Queen, various foreign royalty and heads of state arrived in a procession of carriages and one of the last to arrive to the Abbey was the Irish State Coach carrying the Queen Mother. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip traveled in grand style from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey in the Gold State Coach pulled by eight matching horses.

The Gold State Coach was built in 1762 and has been used in every coronation since King George IV; it is also used for other grand occasions such as most recently the royal wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton and the Diamond Jubilee. The coach weighs four tons and is 24 feet long and 12 feet high. The gold gilded enclosed coach features panels painted by Giovanni Cipriani and at the four corners are tritons that represent Britain’s imperial power and on the roof are three gilded cherubs that represent England, Ireland and Scotland. The interior of the coach is lined with velvet and satin.

The coronation ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II was performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the most senior cleric in the Church of England. Other clergy and peer members had additional roles and most of the participants are required to wear ceremonial robes or uniforms. Government officials and representatives from foreign countries along with members of the royal family and invited guests throughout England and the Commonwealth nations, approximately 8,000 guests were invited.

The Procession –

Finally with everyone assembled the coronation ceremony starts with the procession of the royal regalia. Preceding the Queen into the Abbey are the royal maces, three ceremonial swords representing mercy, spiritual and temporal justice, the Sword of State, St. Edward’s Staff and lastly St. Edward’s Crown. Normally the Sovereign enters wearing a traditional crimson surcoat, this is usually worn for the duration of the ceremony and the other coronation garments and robes are placed over it. Instead of a surcoat Queen Elizabeth entered the Abbey wearing her custom designed coronation gown made by Norman Hartnell and the Robe of State carried by her eight Maids of Honor.

The different sections of the coronation ceremony have largely remained unchanged over the centuries. After the procession, Queen Elizabeth arrives at the front of the Abbey, she kneels to pray and then sits in the Chair of Estate as the royal regalia is brought forward and placed on the altar. Then she moves to stand before King Edward’s Chair which is also known as the Coronation Chair.

The Coronation Chair was commissioned in 1296 for the coronation of King Edward I to hold the coronations stone of Scotland, also known as the Stone of Scone. The high back Gothic chair was carved in 1297 from oak which features four gilded lions that are the legs of the chair. Since 1308 all England sovereigns until 1603 and Great Britain thereafter have used the chair at their coronations, with the exception of Queen Mary I who was crowned in a chair given to her by the Pope and Mary II who was crowned in copy of the chair. In 1996 the Stone of Scone was returned to Scotland with the provision that it would be returned to the chair for the next coronation.

The Recognition –

During this section of the ceremony, the Archbishop along with the other clergy presents the Queen to the four corners of the coronation theatre, starting at the east, south, west and north. The congregation signifies their acknowledgement and shouts their joy. The Queen accepts their acclamations while standing in front of the Coronation Chair.

The Oath –

The Queen returns to the Chair of Estate and the Archbishop stands before her to ask her if she is prepared to take the Oath. Then, the Queen approaches the altar with the Sword of State being carried before her and with her right hand on the Bible she pledges to uphold the laws of the State and Church of England. Afterwards she kisses the Bible and signs the Oath.

The service continues with a reading from the Gospel by one of the Bishops followed by several hymns sung by the choir and the Archbishop will recite more prayers.

The Anointing –

The Queen rises and with the assistance of the Mistress of Robes she is dressed in an anointing gown made of plain white cloth that fastens in the back and is specially made to be worn over her coronation gown. The Queen once again moves to the Coronation Chair and four Knights of the Garter approach with a pall (canopy) made of silk to shield the public from this most sacred part of the coronation ceremony.

The Dean of Westminster takes the Ampulla and the Coronation Spoon from the Altar and with the Archbishop goes to stand before the Queen. The Dean pours the Holy Oil into the Spoon and the Archbishop anoints the hands, breast and head of the Queen. She then kneels and the Archbishop gives her a blessing. The Knights of the Garter remove the pall and walk away.

The Queen rises at with the aid of the Mistress of Robes she removes the anointing gown and replaces it with afresh clean tunic, known as the Colobium Sindonis. The Supertunica is put on and fastened with a Girdle and the Stole is draped over her shoulders and finally the Imperial Mantel. The Queen then returns to sit in the Coronation Chair.

The Investiture –

This is the portion of the coronation ceremony when more items of the royal regalia are presented to the Queen, such as the Spurs, the Sword of State, the Armills and the Orb. The Coronation Ring is also presented and placed on the fourth finger of the Queen’s right hand. Next the Sceptre with the Cross and the Rod with the Dove are given to the Queen.

The Crown –

Finally this is the part of the ceremony that is the most solemn. The Archbishop stands before the Altar and takes St. Edward’s Crown into his hands and says a prayer. He returns to the Queen sitting in the Coronation Chair and reverently raises the Crown over her head for a few moments and then slowly lowers it onto the Queen’s head. This act constitutes the actual crowning of the Sovereign who symbolically takes possession of the kingdom. As the Queen is being crowned, simultaneously the Princes, Princesses and Peers put on their crowns and coronets and a shout goes out among those gathered in the Abbey, “God Save the Queen”.

The Homage –

The Sceptre with the Cross and the Rod with the Dove are given to a peer to hold for the duration of the Homage. The first to pay homage to the Queen are the Archbishop and the other bishops who kneel before the Queen and pledge their support. Then the Duke of Edinburgh pays his homage, pledges his support and kisses the Queen’s left cheek. Next follow the other royal members and peers who have gathered to witness the coronation ceremony.

Just before Communion, the Queen will have the Crown removed and the Orb will be given to a peer to hold. After Communion the Queen will kneel before the Coronation Chair with the Duke of Edinburgh at her side, the Duke’s coronet will also be removed. The Archbishop will say several prayers and ends with a blessing for the royal couple.

The Recessional –

The Queen will go into the private chapel for a few minutes and as she returns she is now wearing the Imperial Crown. The Sceptre with the Cross is placed into her right hand and the Orb into her left hand. Then, the Queen will leave the Abbey as the congregation sings the National Anthem. The members of the Royal family, clergy and guests will slowly follow. Upon exiting the Abbey the Queen and Duke take their seats in the Gold State Coach and escorted by thousands of military personnel from around the Commonwealth they make their way back to Buckingham Palace through the streets of London.

The Coronation Wardrobe of Queen Elizabeth II

In 1953, for her coronation ceremony, Queen Elizabeth II worn a specially made gown designed by Norman Hartnell instead of the normal surcoat. The coronation gown was made of white silk with intricate embroidery of the floral symbols of the countries of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Nations, including the English Tudor rose, a Scottish thistle, a Welsh leek, an Irish shamrock, a Canadian maple leaf, an Australian wattle flower, a New Zealand fern and a South African protea. Unknown to the Queen at the time, Hartnell cleverly had a four-leaf clover embroidered on the left side of the dress where Queen Elizabeth’s hand would touch it throughout the day

Over her gown, the Queen wore the Robe of State when she entered the Abbey for the coronation ceremony. Attached to the shoulders of the dress, the purple hand woven silk velvet robe was lined in ermine and had a train that was six yards long. The robe was beautifully embroidered with gold thread that featured a design of wheat and olive branches to represent peace and prosperity and the train ends with the Queen’s crowned cypher.

The Queen also wore the diamond Coronation Necklace and Earrings that were originally made in 1858 for the coronation of Queen Victoria. The Coronation necklace was also worn at the coronations of Queen Alexandra in 1901, Queen Mary in 1911 and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother in 1937. At the time of the coronation in 1953 the necklace had 25 graduated cushion-cut diamonds set in silver with gold links and a large 22 carat diamond pendant known as the Lahore Diamond. The matching Coronation Earrings were also made in 1858 and consist of four cushion-cut diamonds and two drop diamond pendants that are approximately 12 and 7 carats each.

Prior to the start of the coronation ceremony on the journey from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, the Queen wore the Diamond Diadem. The George IV State Diadem was made in 1820 for the coronation of King George IV. The diadem includes 1333 diamonds, including a four-carat yellow diamond, and 169 pearls with a design that alternates between crosses and a floral design which incorporate roses, thistles and shamrocks which are the symbols of England, Scotland and Ireland.

The diadem was later worn by Queen Adelaide, the consort of King William IV. Queen Victoria inherited it in 1837 and she wore it at her coronation during the recessional from Westminster Abbey. Upon her death in 1901 the diadem was passed to a secession of Queen consorts; Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. The diamen is now part of the Queen’s Personal Jewel Collection and is easily recognizable as it is worn by the current Queen on the postage stamps, coins and currency of England; it is also worn in the annual procession from Buckingham Palace to the State Opening Parliament.

England is the only European country that still uses royal regalia for the consecration ceremony of their king or queens. Some of these items are hundreds of years old and others more recent items were used in 1953 for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. (For more detailed information about the coronation regalia in the Crown Jewels collection please see last month’s post, The Crown Jewels of England – Part One)

Travel – United States Mint

Posted on September 2, 2013 by barbara

Today in history the U.S. Treasury Department was established in 1789. This post will discuss the history of the Treasury Department and the functions of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing located in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Mint which has several locations across the United States.

A Brief History of the U.S. Treasury Department

Established by an act of Congress in 1789, the Department of the Treasury is an executive department of the U.S. federal government. The first Secretary of the Treasury was Alexander Hamilton. He was appointed by President George Washington and sworn in on September 11, 1789. During his five years as the Treasury Secretary, he established the nation’s first financial system.

Currently, the U.S. Treasury Department prints all paper currency and postage stamps at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing located in Washington, D.C. and the U.S. Mints create all coins in circulation throughout the United States. The Treasury Department manages all the United States federal finances, supervises the national banks and lending institutions, advises on domestic and international financial, economic and trade policies, and enforces and collects all federal taxes while investigating and prosecuting tax evaders through the Internal Revenue Service.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is a government agency of the U.S. Treasury Department which designs and produces a variety of secured products for the United States Government, mainly the Federal Reserve Notes (paper currency).

The Bureau began in 1861 during the Civil War and was authorized by Congress to issue paper currency instead of coins due to the lack of funds needed to support the war. The paper currency was basically a government IOU and were called Demand Notes which were payable “on demand” in coin at the Treasury facilities. At the time, a private company produced the Demand Notes in sheets of four, then clerks would sign the individual notes by hand and workers would trim and cut the sheets into individual Demand Notes.

Initially the currency processing operations of the Treasury Department were not formally organized until the formation of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing which was officially recognized by congressional legislation in 1874.

By 1918 the plate capacity used in the printing presses increased from four to eight notes per sheet to meet the production requirements needed during World War I. Then in 1929, there was the first major design change in paper currency. The bill design was standardized and the size of each bill was reduced and the Bureau converted from the eight to twelve notes per sheet. This redesign helped to reduce paper costs and counterfeit deterrents were implemented for the general public to recognize the bills features.

In 1952, there were further improvements with new faster-drying inks that enable printed back sheets to be kept damp until the front sheets were printed allowing less distortion since the sheets needed to be dampened before each printing. The size of each sheet was also increased from twelve to eighteen notes per sheet. Then in 1957, the Bureau began printing currency with the dry intaglio method which uses special paper and inks and further increased from eighteen to thirty-two notes per sheets. Since 1968, all currency has been printed using this method of the dry intaglio and the need to wet each paper prior to printing was permanently eliminated.

With the dry intaglio process, the note engravings were transferred to steel plates. With this new method the ink is applied directly to the plates and then wiped clean leaving the ink only in the engraved lines. The plate is pressed against the sheet of paper allowing the ink to be applied. Both faces are printed and overprinted with the Treasury Seals and serial numbers.

In addition to paper currency, the Bureau has designed and printed a variety of secured products for the U.S. federal government over the years. These items have included military commissions and award certificates, invitations for White House events, passports for the State Department, money orders for the Post Office Department and many different types of identification cards, forms and special security documents for all types of government agencies.

In 1894, the Bureau took over the production of postage stamps for the United States government and by the end of that first year the stamp production was more than 2.1 billion stamps. Then in 2005, the United States Postal Service switched to private postage stamp printers and thus ended 111 years of production by the Bureau.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has two locations. The main location in Washington, D.C. offers a free 30-minute guided tour which features information regarding the various phases of currency production. Tours are available Monday through Friday. There is an additional Bureau location in Fort Worth, Texas with visitor tours available during business hours. The Bureau locations are closed for all federal holidays and the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The United States Mint

The United States Mint was created by Congress with the Coinage Act of 1792 and was originally a part of the Department of State. In 1799, the Mint was made an independent agency and later in 1873 it became part of the Department of the Treasury.

The function of the U.S. Mint is to design and produce coins, commemorative medals, and special coins, in addition to safeguarding, controlling and disbursing gold and silver bullion for authorized federal government purposes.

Currently there are four coin producing locations, the Mint’s headquarters in Philadelphia, PA. and additional facilities in Denver, San Francisco and West Point, New York and a gold bullion depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Several additional facilities across the United States have opened and closed since the creation of the U.S. Mint.

The Philadelphia Mint –

The Philadelphia Mint is the largest mint and the current facility opened in 1969, there have also been three previous buildings located in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia location is also the site of the master die production for the U.S. coinage and the design and engraving departments of the U.S. Mint are also located there.

The Denver Mint –

The Denver location began in 1863 as the local assay office five years after the discovery of gold in the area and by the early 1900s the office was bringing in over $5 million in annual gold and silver deposits. In 1906 the Mint officially opened the new Denver Mint and became coin production.

The San Francisco Mint –

The San Francisco location opened in 1854 during the California Gold Rush but moved to a new location in 1874. This building was one of the few that survived the 1906 earthquake and closed in 1937 when the current facility was built. Currently the facility is producing only proof coinage and not general circulation coins.

West Point, New York –

The West Point facility is the newest mint location as of 1988. Originally the West Point Bullion Depository opened in 1937 and cents (pennies) were produced there from 1973 to 1986. Currently the West Point facility is still used for storage of a portion of the United States gold bullion reserve and produces gold, silver and platinum American Eagle coins.

Fort Knox –

Fort Knox does not produce coins but is a storage facility for the majority of the United States gold and silver bullion reserves.

In general all coins produced at U.S. Mint facilities are given mintmarks.

Here is the current mintmark information for each coin:

Cent: Unlike all other coins, which had their mintmarks on the reverse until 1964, the Lincoln cent or penny has always had the mintmark on the obverse side below the date to the right of Lincoln’s bust since its 1909 introduction.
Nickel: The mintmark was located near the rim of the obverse side to the right of Thomas Jefferson’s bust from 1968 to 2005. With the 2006 redesigned of the obverse of the nickel, the mintmark is now located below the date on the lower right. Many earlier nickels from 1938 to 1964 are still in circulation, and their mintmarks can be found on the reverse side to the right of Monticello, with the exception of the 1942-1945 war nickels.
Dime: The mintmark is above the date on the obverse side to the right of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s bust.
Quarter: The mintmark is to the right of George Washington’s bust.
Half dollar: The mintmark is below the center of John F. Kennedy’s bust, above the date.
Presidential dollar: first issued in 2007: The mintmark and date are found on the rim of the coin.

Tour information regarding the Department of Treasury facilities

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing –

Free tours are offered at both facilities, Washington, D.C. and Fort Worth, TX. In general, the tours feature the various steps involved in the production of our national currency. The process starts with large blank sheets of special paper and ends with the finished bills. For more information regarding hours and dates of each facility, please see the website, www.moneyfactory.gov/tours

The U.S. Mints –

Visiting one of the United States Mints is an exciting experience for all ages. Free tours cover the history of the Mint and visitors will be able to see the process that takes from the beginning of designing the coins, creating sculptured dies to the actual making of the coins. For more information regarding hours and dates of each facility, please see the website, www.usmint.gov/mint_tours

Travel tips and suggestions

Check ahead at each facility for safety and security restrictions. Some may require for adults to provide government-issued photo identification for security purposes.
If the Department of Homeland Security level is elevated to CODE ORANGE, the United States Mint at Philadelphia will be CLOSED to the public unless otherwise noted.
The United States Mint reserves the right to deny access to anyone at any time; in addition, members of the general public touring the facility may be subject to search by the United States Mint Police.
Restrictions regarding cameras and cellphones, purses and backpacks may be prohibited.
Photography inside the Department of Treasury buildings is prohibited.
TRAVEL NOTE: Advanced planning is a good idea, especially when planning a short visit to the specific cities, and when possible it is a good idea to make reservations if available.

We have been fortunate to have visited the Bureau of Engraving and Printing when we were in Washington, D.C. in 2002. We also have visited two of the U.S. Mints on our road trips across the United States, the ones in Philadelphia, PA and the Denver, CO. Taking the tours with the family is always exciting and interesting!!

The Enchanted Manor

a lifestyle blog by Barbara Jones

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