Lundberg's Early Life
Godfrey Lundberg was born in Westervik, Sweden on May 4, 1879. He was the second child of Isak and Edla Maria Lundberg. In 1891 when Lundberg was 12 years old his parents and their five children moved to the United States and settled in Spokane, Washington where his father was hired by a Swedish Lutheran Church to be its music director.
Lundberg entered the Spokane public schools and excelled in art and music. As a 14 year old, one of his pen and ink drawings was good enough to be chosen for exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. This was a precursor of illustrious things to come. Twenty-two years later, in 1915 at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, his remarkable engraving of the Lord's Prayer on a tiny gold pin head amazed thousands of visitors from all over the world.
He studied in Europe under Herberich, a German government engraver, and also while in Germany, engraved banknotes for the German Government. By 1911 he was an established engraver in Spokane working for the E. J. Hyde Jewelry Company.
Godfrey Lundberg had his own engraving business in Spokane from 1914 -1918. In addition to normal engraving jobs such as stationary, wedding invitations, business cards, steel die embossing and die cutting, Lundberg did fine engraving and designing for a number of wealthy eastern clients.
His Masterpiece - The Lord's Prayer Pin
It was professional pride that inspired Godfrey Lundberg to attempt engraving the Lord's Prayer on the head of a tiny pin only .047 inch in diameter. In 1907, Paul P. Wentz engraved the Lord's Prayer on a brass pin head with a diameter of 2mm or .079 inch and an area of 0.00487 sq. inch. Wentz's pin is in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia located at 1300 Locust St.
Lundberg became aware of this pin in about 1912 and was convinced that he could do a much more difficult piece of work, namely engrave the Lord's Prayer on a pin head with a much smaller area. He chose a gold pin with a head diameter of .047 inch and an area of 0.00173 sq. inch, about 1/3 the area of the Wentz pin head. He preferred gold, as it is very stable and does not corrode, rust, or become negatively affected by age.
Before commencing the work, Lundberg realized that he needed to be in top physical shape to undergo the rigors of such a long, nerve-racking endeavor. He designed for himself a grueling physical conditioning program and and took six months to design the perfect engraving tool for the extremely delicate work.
After finishing his magnum opus, as a finale Lundberg engraved on the point of a fine gold needle the letters IHS for "Iesus Hominum Salvator" or "Jesus, Savior of Men". The nervous strain of engraving his masterpiece caused Lundberg to loose weight and culminated in a nervous breakdown after he had finished the incredible engraving feat. He declared, "I wouldn't undertake a feat like that again for any amount of money."
After completing the pin, Lundberg and his brother Carl designed glass airtight holders for the pin and needle, stands for the two microscopes, and a carrying case for the engravings, stands, and microscopes. Being exhausted with nervous prostration and in desperate need of total rest, Lundberg entrusted the task of revealing the pin to the public to his brothers Carl and Mauritz.
Master Antique Engraver - Later Years
In 1919 Lundberg, his wife Anna, and son Edris moved to Seattle, Washington where he was employed by his longtime friend Alvin H. Hankins. He was in the jewelry manufacturing business in Seattle and was eager to have Lundberg work for him.
Lundberg did not work for himself after coming to Seattle. He did however make many United States Government medals 30 and also one-of-a-kind custom pieces of jewelry for wealthy clients. Not being a real good businessman, but being an acknowledged world-class engraver, Lundberg's association with Mr. Hankins was mutually beneficial. It is most likely that Lundberg gave the gold needle with IHS engraved on the point to Hankins.
Godfrey Lundberg died in 1933 at the Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Washington. He was 54 years old. Godfrey Lundberg is buried at Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery in Seattle. The world-renowned engraver preferred to be humbly buried in the military veteran's section. His wife Anna and son Edris are also buried at Evergreen-Washelli.
Lundberg's world-famous engravings have remained in a bank vault since the tour was completed in late 1917. There have been only a few public and private showings of this rare antique since then.
Timothy Warren's background is in travel, but along this adventurous journey he has come to represent of one of the world's most rare antique engravings, Lords' Prayer hand engraved on the head of a small gold pin. Please visit our website dedicated to this rare antique collectible and the incredible story of the Lord's Pin Engraver, Godfrey E. Lundberg.
1 comments:
A British engraver, Graham Short, has recently repeated this feat. Like Lundberg, he works at night to avoid vibration from passing traffic while wearing a stethoscope to monitor his own heart rate. Then he engraves between heart beats! It's been reported in the newspapers here in the UK that he now engraves along the sharp edge of razor blades! Unbelievable.
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