Mount Rushmore Memorial Inscription Competition Specimen Certificate
South Dakota, 1941. Certificate of Merit for Texts Submitted for Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Black text with black border, Vignette at top center of George Washington. Red specimen overprints and POCs. VF-XF condition, ABNC. Original plans for the carving of Mount Rushmore included a large inscription called the Entablature. The sculptor of Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum, intended to carve the Entablature in an area shaped like the territory of the Louisiana Purchase using large, three-foot tall letters. By 1934, Borglum took a different approach and worked with newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst to publish a contest to write the text. Thousands of essays were submitted and a grand prize was awarded for the best essay overall. The overall winner was John Edward Bradley. Prizes were awarded in grammar school, high school, and college divisions.
Estimate: USD 90 - 140