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Show Fig. 144 Gravestone, rose. Brigham City. John Henry Bott. Marble. Ca. 1892. H: 55 cm. W: 30 cm. Collection of John H. Bott & Sons Co., Brigham City. Fig. 145 Gravestone, dove. Brigham City. John Henry Bott. Marble. Ca. 1881. H: 60 cm. W: 30 cm. Collection of John H. Bott & Sons Co., Brigham City. The rose, symbolizing love and perfection after death, speaks of life and death; the dove, with an olive leaf in his beak, symbolizes peace and rest. Both traditional symbols were carved by John Henry Bott, an English convert to the Mormon Church. He learned stonecutting while working on the construction of the Salt Lake Temple and later moved to Brigham City, where he established a monument business. His wife and seventeen children were all involved in the family enterprise. Here we present a few examples of traditional imagery which hark back to the eastern seaboard and the countries of Western Europe: sheaves of grain, doves, weeping willows, the human hand, and so on (Figs. 150-55). As for the images reflecting the new ethnic arrangements of the West, we find the theology of Mormonism; the migration to the West with homesteading, ranching, farming, cowpunching, and other aspects of the pioneering experience; and a renewed cult of nature, the out-of-doors, and sports (Figs. 146-49). Editor's Note: All uncredited rubbings and photographs in this section are by Carol Edison, 1978. Austin and Alta Fife. Austin Fife is professor emeritus, Utah State University, in languages and philosophy. The Fifes are among the most renowned folklorists of the West. 145 |
