Throughout the year at the museum, we receive many donations that catch our attention. Back in July, a donation from the Knox Presbyterian Church came through our doors. The donation is of a single item, a framed lithograph of the Lord’s Prayer. This item is particularly interesting. It has bright, vivid colours and has immense history attached to it.
To start, let’s look at the item itself. Upon first glance, you will notice the bright gold backdrop and images. Together, the framed piece is 17” x 24”. Between its size and colours, it would be very hard to miss. A lithograph is a printmaking process based on the rejection of water by grease. The image is applied to stone, grained zinc or aluminium surfaces with a grease-based crayon or ink. Most other printing methods require etching and other forms of imprints, while lithography can closely resemble a painting. To be more specific, this piece is referred to as chromolithography rather than just lithography. The main difference is chromolithography is with colour, while the other is monochromatic.
Now, to the item’s history. The piece is dated to 1894, which makes it about 129 years old! Taped to the back of the piece was some of its more “personal” history. The Lord’s Prayer was originally held by the Milne Family. It hung in the original Knox Presbyterian Church in 1907. At one point, it returned back to the family and in March of 2002, William Milne gave it to the Church. Now, it has come to the museum for safe keeping. The Knox Presbyterian Church was the first church built in Sooke in 1898, so with that being said, the piece actually predates the church. The original church building was dismantled after 50 years of service. Some of that lumber was re-used to erect a new structure for the community.
All together, the Lord’s Prayer presents a unique intersection of a long-standing printing technique and some of Sooke’s oldest history which allows for a dynamic story to be told. So many of the items at the museum have this ability and we are able to present to the community Sooke’s unique history.
