vintage Pompeian Bronze bookends, Peter Pan, circa 1932, 9+ Inches tall for Sale

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vintage Pompeian Bronze bookends, Peter Pan, circa 1932, 9+ Inches tall For Sale

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vintage Pompeian Bronze bookends, Peter Pan, circa 1932, 9+ Inches tall:
$395.00

Offered here is a very attractive pair of highly collectible bronze clad bookends: Peter Pan.
circa 1920s
The pair were manufactured by the Pompeian Bronze Company in New York City.
This is a rare set. These bookends are the spitting image of a 1912 statue of the author’s original conception of Peter Pan ( see photos) located in Kensington Garden.
Construction is bronze clad.
The paint is an excellent condition, particularly for the age. The white paint of that era was notorious for not withstanding the passage of time. Hence the paint on the collar of Peter is quite worn. The rainbow colors of Peter‘s outfit are quite impressive.
Note that there is a small vertical crease to the side of Peters back on one of the statues. This is not uncommon with bronze clad items.
Take a good look at the photos.
There are no breaks in the bronze cladding. No issues with the fingers or the horns. This is really a remarkable set.
One bookend has its original felt and the original Pompeian Bronze foil label,which is quite unusual.
This attractive pair of bookends is a little over 9 inches tall. Together they weigh 4 lbs. 14 oz.
Shipping is $20 including insurance priority mail.
Any questions please ask.

To fully appreciate this bookends here’s a little background: in 1904 J.M. Barrie wrote a stage play titled “Peter Pan, or the boy who would not grow up”. The stage play became the basis for Barrie’s 1911 novel “Peter and Wendy.“ In 1912, Barrie commissioned sculptor Sir George Frampton to create a statue Peter Pan that mysteriously appeared one morning to the delight of children in Kensington Gardens in London. (see photo) 14 years later a replica of this statue was dedicated at the entrance of Johnson Park on the campus of Rutgers University in Camden New Jersey. I would not be surprised if this replica was the inspiration for the bookends that were manufactured across the river in New York.

Note: I have added a photo of a sale of this set in 2014 the last time I had it.

Many people are not really familiar with bronze clad bookends so here’s a little background information. Prior to 1914 just about all high and sculptural artwork was solid bronze. About that time a company named Kathodian Bronze Works began manufacturing small sculptural artwork such as bookends (back then they were called “book rocks”) and statuary using a process imported from Europe around the turn of the century known as electroplating or electroforming. A plaster mold was made and then it was covered with graphite to allow copper or bronze to be electroplated on top of it. It was a very time-consuming process and several companies went one step further by painting the bookends in a very colorful fashion. This was a time-consuming and expensive manufacturing process by the early 1930s most manufacturers had exited the business