Winter 2016

Winter 146 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com Fig. 7: Kerosene lamp made by Cornelius & Baker, Philadelphia,1858–1869. Bronzed and gilt brass, glass, iron. H. 28 in. Cornelius & Baker first exhibited kerosene lamps at the Franklin Institute’s twenty-sixth exhibition of American manufactures in 1858. Private collection. Fig. 8: Detail of the kerosene lamp in fig. 7, showing the acanthus leaf canopy over seated winged griffins. Adapted from ancient Greek design, both features had been favored motifs in European and American design since the mid-eighteenth century. In spite of the subsequent revolution in lighting technology and changing taste during the twentieth century, admiration for lighting fixtures produced by the Cornelius firm never lost its luster. Cornelius candle, oil, gas and kerosene fixtures continue to be esteemed today by collectors, students, and enthusiasts of early Americana. Little known today is the fact that Cornelius & Baker also produced parlor sculpture, During the second quarter of the nineteenth centur y, wealthy American householders, the increasingly vested middle class, and even those of more modest means increasingly sought statuary of American heroes (George Washington), ancient gods (Mercury), allegorical f igures (Liberty), fictional characters (Walter Scott’s “Old Mortality”), and others, as evidence of their erudition and sense of style (Fig. 6). A lively trade in plaster, parian, terra-cotta, marble, bronze, and bronzed zinc statuettes ensued, most imported from Europe through merchants like Tiffany and Company in New York City and Alonzo & Francis Viti of Philadelphia. Cornelius & Baker saw opportunity and entered this realm of production. Though not the only American firm to do so, it proved to be the most successful, due in large part to the business acumen of its founding partners who aggressively explored new marketing opportunities. The firm’s success was also due to the talented designers, modelers, and sculptors who worked under Charles Page (1819–1900), chief designer and head of the company’s design department from 1844 to 1864. In contrast to imported European bronze statuettes, which were cast using the lost wax process, Cornelius & Baker cast theirs of zinc in brass molds (Figs. 7-8). Zinc was easy and relatively inexpensive to cast, and was typically patinated to imitate more expensive bronze and/or gold. 7 The resulting figures compared favorably with imported bronze counterparts and cost considerably less. The firm’s earliest statuettes, starting in about 1850, appear to