Zinc Sculpture in America, 1850-1950Introduced in the United States as a new material for statuary in the mid-nineteenth century, zinc has properties that allowed replication at low cost. It was used to produce modestly priced serial sculpture displayed throughout the nation on fountains, public monuments, and war memorials. Imitative finishes created the illusion of more costly bronze, stone, or polychrome wood. This first comprehensive overview of American zinc sculpture is interdisciplinary, engaging aspects of art history, popular culture, local history, technology, and art conservation. Included is a generously illustrated catalogue presenting more than eight hundred statues organized by type: trade figures and Indians, gods and goddesses, fountain figures, animals, famous men, military figures, firemen, cemetery memorials, and religous subjects. The compilation of data on these statues will be valuable to scholars, filling the current void in research libraries. The author's experience as a conservator will also make the an essential resource for historic preservationists seeking to repair statues now damaged by years of outdoor exposure. This book has 555 illustrations, 354 of which are in color. Carol Grissom is Senior Objects Conservator at the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute. |
Contents
Chapter 1 The Lure of Zinc | 13 |
Chapter 2 History and Technology | 23 |
Chapter 3 Sources and Sculptors | 35 |
Chapter 4 Fabrication | 51 |
Forming Casting or Stamping and Joining | 53 |
Slushcast parts and statuettes | 56 |
Sandcast fused and sandblasted whitebronze statues | 57 |
Stamped sheetzinc statues | 62 |
Corrosion | 105 |
Deteriorated coatings | 107 |
Unattractive installation | 110 |
Replication | 111 |
Catalogue of Sculptures | 115 |
Catalogue 1 Trade Figures | 117 |
Catalogue 2 Indians | 141 |
Catalogue 3 Civic Personifications | 169 |
Surface Treatments | 65 |
Chapter 5 Producers and Purveyors | 75 |
Principal New York Firms | 78 |
Janes Beebe Co and Janes Kirtland Co | 79 |
J W Fiske | 80 |
J L Mott Iron Works | 83 |
Distributors | 84 |
Benziger Bros and Daprato Statuary Co | 85 |
Monumental Bronze Co and Its Affiliates | 86 |
W H Mullins and Friedley Voshardt Co | 87 |
Properties Damage and Repair | 93 |
Damage and Solutions for Repair | 96 |
Losses | 100 |
Conventional castzinc statues | 101 |
Whitebronze pedestals | 102 |
Sheetzinc statues | 103 |
Catalogue 4 Gods and Goddesses | 211 |
Catalogue 5 Candelabra | 269 |
Catalogue 6 Fountains | 279 |
Catalogue 7 Animals | 405 |
Catalogue 8 Famous Men | 455 |
Catalogue 9 Soldiers and Sailors | 487 |
Catalogue 10 Firemen | 555 |
Catalogue 11 Tomb Statues | 565 |
Catalogue 12 Saints and Crucifixions | 587 |
Companies and Trade Catalogues | 615 |
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Common terms and phrases
American antique architectural atop a multitiered author in 2000 Avenue Bakewell & Mullins Berlin Boy and Swan bronze Installed atop bronze paint Brooklyn Caspar Buberl cast in zinc Cast zinc Cast zinc Installed Cast zinc Originally cast-iron fountain topped Cemetery copper County Courthouse Daprato Statuary Demuth DOUGLASSVILLE drinking fountain figure Fiske's Forest Glen Formerly foundry Gambrinus Geiss Green-Wood Cemetery ground basin Hebe Height 6 feet illustrated inches Indian J. L. Mott Iron J. W. Fiske Janes Joseph Warren Justice Kirtland listed M. J. Seelig Memorial metal modeled Monumental Bronze Mott catalogue Museum National Park Seminary Ohio orbronze Ornament paint Installed atop painted one coat pedestal Pennsylvania personal communication Philadelphia plaque polychromy purchased Sculpture seen sheet-metal sold Soldiers Stamped sheet zinc Street total height two-pan cast-iron fountain U.S. Army U.S. Capitol W. H. Mullins Washington White bronze Installed York zinc statues Zinkguss