This lovely old plaque depicting the former logo of the American Canoe Association was another online auction win late last year. It's unsigned, but in beautiful original condition. It has a small hole in each corner where it was once mounted to another surface. I'm not sure if this was meant for a building (perhaps next to an office door) or a trophy base. It's a bit small for the first yet quite large and heavy for the second. I have no idea as to the age of this piece, but it would have to be early - the Association stopped using this image many years ago.
The American Canoe Association was established in 1880 at New York's Lake George and today counts over 30,000 members, making it the oldest and largest canoeing and paddling organization in the US. As far as I'm aware, this logo was used up through the 1950's at least, until it was updated to the much sleeker (and racially neutral) logo of today. I'm not sure when this occurred, but all traces of this old image have been seemingly purged from the ACA's currently available documentation.
Edit 1: This piece IS apparently signed and even dated! As best I can tell from looking at the photograph, it is signed "Boex" and dated 1925, near the tips of the feathers in his hair. Of course, it's possible that I'm just seeing things! I'll look at it again through my magnifier and hopefully post more info on it in the near future.
Still in all, this is a very lovely piece, and is a welcome addition to my collection!
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| American Canoe Association plaque, bronze, unknown artist or date |
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| American Canoe Association plaque, bronze, unknown artist or date, back |
Edit 2: Over the years, I have managed to collect many medals and awards from the American Canoe Association featuring this image of the Indian man paddling a canoe. They range in dates from the early 1920's to the late 1960's. I have assembled most of my collection into a shadowbox display case to help keep them from getting dusty or damaged (one cased medal wouldn't fit so was not included). At some point, I will disassemble the case and photograph each piece individually, with descriptions following. Until then, here is a picture of the majority of my ACA pieces. I get a kick out of the medals that look like shrunk down copies of the plaque. Enjoy!
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American Canoe Association awards
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Edit 3: While assembling the shadowbox with the plaque and my collection of medals, there was one medal that was still in its presentation box and was in excellent condition but did not physically fit in the shadowbox. It is likely my oldest ACA medal. It was created by the legendary New York jewelers Dieges & Clust and engraved with the date 1907. It is also fancifully engraved on the back "Trophy Paddling, 1 Mile." The pin bar above the suspension rings is in the shape of a canoe and has "SECOND" cast into it. I believe that it is likely made of silver. Given both the age of the medal and prestige of the jewelers who created it, I believe it to be very likely that the plaque came from the same source and was possibly the model used by other medalists to create later medals for the Association. The main relief artist at Dieges & Clust was Constanzo Luini, who was born in 1886 (he emigrated to the US from Italy at the turn of the 20th century) and who was descended from one of Leonardo DaVinci's students. Having personally compared my plaque to photos of others created by this fine artist, I firmly believe that it is likely that Mr. Luini was the original sculptor of the ACA's original logo. Wow, what a pedigree! Here are the pictures of the "missing" medal from my collection.
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American Canoe Association, medal ca. 1907, created by Dieges & Clust Jewelers, New York City, in the original box
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American Canoe Association, medal ca. 1907, created by Dieges & Clust Jewelers, New York City, medal front
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American Canoe Association, medal ca. 1907, created by Dieges & Clust Jewelers, New York City, medal back
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American Canoe Association, medal ca. 1907, created by Dieges & Clust Jewelers, New York City, manufacturer's stamp
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Hound -
ReplyDeleteHaven't heard from you for awhile. Hope you're feeling better, and start posting again soon. Your voice is missed! You're the only person on the net who truly loves bronze. I also love the bronze, but I don't publish.
Do you own an example of the USS Maine plaque? A beautiful plaque, but sad in so many ways, not the least of which was a war started for no reason. Not a big war, but even one death for nothing is a death too many.
The veterans of that war are dead now. As the years pass, the marble headstones our government used to remember those men slowly weather away. The time comes soon when the inscriptions will no longer be legible. The plaques remain, though. The beauty of the USS Maine plaque is it reminds us we are men. As such, it is far easy to let our egos convince us we are right....
I love your ACA plaque. I have searched long to find an example of this plaque. Alas, yours probably is unique.
I own several USS Maine plaques. Only a numbered thousand were cast. Do a Google search for "USS Maine plaque[.]" Pull up the images. Examples of this plaque are found in parks all over the East of the United States, and even in a few places West of the Mississippi.
If you wish, I am willing to trade an example of the USS Maine plaque for your ACA plaque.
Think about it. I will monitor this page. Post a reply here containing your answer, and a way I can contact you.
I hope you are feeling better. You have a good instinct for the bronze. As I said earlier, your voice is missed.
The Atomic Tomcat
July 16, 1945
Near Bingham, New Mexico
Hi Atomic Tomcat,
DeleteI thank you for your kind words in regard to my blog! I do indeed have a deep love for bronzes. :) I consider my collection as my "retirement fund." I'd rather speculate on art and antiques than the stock market, as I get to appreciate some really beautiful and fun objects while hopefully watching their value increase as well.
I'm sorry I've been absent so long. Within the next month or two I plan to get back into the swing of photographing and posting more of my collection. I have had serious spinal problems over the last few years and it’s knocked the wind out of my sails. I'll have more time and energy to devote to my blog and collections once I've recovered. I've only posted perhaps a quarter of my bronzes and I've actually talked to several of the artists whose works I own. Once I recover, I also have a list of sculptures that I plan to visit that are in museums and/or are monuments, rather like my post about Pumunangwet at the Fruitlands Museum. I have some serious travel plans, let me tell you!
I am indeed very familiar with the U.S.S. Maine. Who could forget the cry, "Remember the Maine!" and the Battle of San Juan Hill? That one charge made Teddy Roosevelt a household name and eventually President. You are correct, the Spanish-American War and subsequent Philippine-American War began with that explosion and William Randolph Hearst's awful "yellow journalism" coverage of the event. "You bring me the pictures and I'll write the story" was his mantra, and it cost so many.lives that it's really disgusting. I lay all the deaths from those wars squarely at that man's feet and I hope he roasts over a slow, hot fire for eternity.
But all of that being said, I have checked out your commemorative plaque. I had not heard of the plaque, but I'm not terribly surprised that at least one was created to commemorate the event. It is indeed a beautiful, historic, valuable and important plaque, especially if one collects military medals and commemoratives as it was made from actual metal recovered from the Maine herself.
I deeply appreciate your offering it to me in exchange for my ACA plaque. Unfortunately, it is outside the scope of my collection. I stay firmly with the Native American Indian theme, and mainly warriors or dancers (though that's just a loose preference). It's quite rare to see an Indian captured on a plaque in such a peaceful pursuit as canoeing. This ACA plaque now hangs proudly on my wall on a base made from antique black walnut lumber left to me by my late grandfather, along with many others from my collection.
I have to agree with you on the apparent availability of my ACA plaque though. I've tried to research it several times and have come up with zilch. I haven't seen another like it appear anywhere in past auctions or advertised sales, have never seen mention of a trophy plaque from the period that I assume this was made in, and believe me I've checked some pretty esoteric sources. It's even rare these days to see an old ACA racing medal with this image on it. The ACA headquarters is on my list of calls to make.. I hope someone there at least knows something about the Indian logo and when it came into use as well as when it was retired. As I find out more information, I'll edit the post.
Once again, thank you for your kind offer, but I must respectfully decline. Keep your eyes open though! I found this one by chance and was lucky enough to win it. The seller was a collector of military medals and was cleaning up and refocusing his own collection when he sold it to me. At any time, another one may pop up for sale, and my plaque will no longer be unique because you'll have one in your collection too. :)
Thanks for checking in on me!! More posts will be coming soon, when I'm again allowed to lift more than a teacup. :)
All the best,
Frank
The Bronze Hound
Frank -
ReplyDeleteI can give you one piece of information about your ACA plaque. I have looked at the image of your plaque many times [and yes, like the former Governor of Georgia, I have had lustful thoughts in my heart!]. I have done extensive research in an attempt to discover the origins of your plaque. Around a year ago, when I first started doing such research, I came across an image from an Ebay auction that had just closed. The auction was for a watch fob which had the same image of an Indian rowing a canoe, with the letters ACA. If memory serves, the watch fob dated to 1932.
I am always looking for new plaques. During my years of searching, I have come across some nice Native American plaques, but I do not collect such plaques. In the future, I will let you know whenever I see a nicer Native American plaque.
My favorite Native American plaques are those that date from the first decade of the 1900's. Think of the Indian head image on the $5 gold piece. That is the type of image I refer to. During that decade, when the frontier was still within living memory, Americans had a collective romantic image of the Indian that was just awesome! No other word for it.
I really do have a bad bronze habit. Like you, I have an extensive collection containing some truly rare plaques. As I get older, I have this growing question in my mind about what will happen to my plaques after I am gone. One thing is certain, my bronze will outlast me by many, many years! I would like to find a place where my plaques would be mounted permanently for public display.
Is there such a thing as a shelter for retired bronze?
Regards,
The Atomic Tomcat
Hello Atomic Tomcat,
ReplyDeleteI must admit, when I first saw this plaque, my feelings were much like yours. ;) Though it is a bit smaller than you might think (an iPad is larger), it's the largest depiction of the image I've yet to see. I have seen (and occasionally bid on) other objects with this image too. As of this writing there is a racing medal from the ACA dating (I think) to 1932 on eBay with the Indian paddling the canoe on the front. As it's made of sterling silver, it's priced accordingly. I watch it but it's a bit rich for me. :)
I deeply appreciate your researching my plaque! I keep hoping that some day either another one pops up with a back story or provenance, or the same info turns up about my plaque. The more eyes that are looking, the more chances that it will eventually come out. :) And thank you for keeping an eye out for me for bronze Indians. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that as well. Feel free to email me any time you wish to chat about bronzes, my email address is below. :D
I do enjoy late 19th to early 20th century bronze plaques depicting Indians, though I find they tend to be more mascot-ish or logo-ish while more contemporary works tend to be more culturally sensitive as well as being more detailed artwork. Back then, the image of the Indian was romanticized by those not actually on the frontier (my grandfather grew up during the Depression in South Dakota and had a very much more realistic viewpoint - I actually have Lakota second cousins). I consider those images to be more the last relics of a then-recently passed Manifest Destiny theory of "the noble but vanishing savage" than a true depiction of Indians in reality, especially considering the era. I've always found the irony of our government immortalizing Indians on our currency while practicing tribal eradication at the same time to be almost unbearable.
I do however still like the fact that at least SOME people thought enough of Native folk to immortalize them in their artwork, even if much of it was not quite culturally appropriate (every Indian got a feathered headdress and war shirt and lived in a tipi, even if that only applied more to certain Plains tribes). They're something of a "snapshot" of the attitudes and understanding at the time. I can often find the early ones at some pretty affordable prices too. I find that my truer bronze lusts tend toward more contemporary plaques such as "Akicita" by Dan Garrett, or the works of Dave McGary and David Lemon. I just wish I could afford to add them to my collection! Modern works are quite a bit more expensive than most of the old ones. Happily, drooling over pictures is still free. ;)
I'm not worried about my bronzes. I like to joke that I could bury them in the back yard for 2000 years and they'd still be worth more when dug up than when planted. :) If I go before I hit actual retirement age, my family knows what to consign to an auction house and what to sell on eBay. Bronze is nearly forever, and I know I'm just a caretaker. As long as I keep them dusted, clean them when they get dirty and wax them every few years (today I use Renaissance Wax, though I used to use Butcher's Paste Wax and that worked just fine too) they'll stay beautiful for the duration of my stewardship of them. At auction, museum representatives are just as able to bid as the public, and as donations are frequently deaccessioned by museums anyway, I'm more of the mind to have that auction than donate. Let the dollar dictate who is most interested, I say.
I like to think of my collection as a repository for "retired" bronzes!! I'll take as many as I can get. :)
All the best,
Frank
The Bronze Hound
art.antiques.hound@gmail.com
- I do have a bit of a correction to make. I said earlier that I try to stick firmly to Native Indians and Western themes in my collection, and I do. But I don't let that stop me from buying an interesting bronze (usually antique or strange) if the price is right. I have many that I also bought for more immediate resale because I got an incredible deal and couldn't say no, including a coup0le "Grand Tour" bronzes. I doubt I'll be blogging about the ones I'm re-homing though as I don't consider them more than "quick flips" and outside the scope of my core collection.
DeleteI do also have an affinity for fantasy pieces, in the sense of dragons and mythical creatures, as well as Art Nouveau. Works of pure fantasy in bronze (especially antique ones) are actually surprisingly rare. More commonly works that seem to be fantasy are actually religious allegories or depictions of Greek or Roman mythological creatures, and those don't interest me as much. I have one fantasy piece from the 19'teens (by J. Edgar Stouffer, probably one of a kind like this plaque) and another unique one from the 1980's, and aside from a very few artists who are making sculptures today, they're about as rare as it gets. The Art Nouveau bronzes tend to be well outside my price range, and I'm picky about those too.
I have already blogged about most of these that are a part of my permanent collection. :)
So don't be surprised if a few more bronzes turn up in this blog that are seriously out of character with the majority. If they make it here then it means I'm quite proud of them as well. But I get pretty picky when I'm out of my main field of interest. Unless the price is just too good to pass up that is!! :D
Frank
The Bronze Hound