Winter 2016

2016 Antiques & Fine Art 149 Fig. 13: Hurdy-Gurdy Player, by Cornelius & Baker, Philadelphia, 1855–1869. Bronzed and gilt zinc, wood. H. 13¾ in. Genre figures like this street urchin with his hurdy-gurdy and monkey held great appeal as subject matter for householders during Cornelius & Baker’s heyday. Private collection. Fig. 12: Rebekah and Eliezer, by Cornelius &Baker, Philadelphia, 1855–1865. Bronzed zinc, wood. H. 14 in. each. Cornelius & Baker drew inspiration for these figures from the Bible (the Book of Genesis, chapter 24, verses 1–67). They depict the moment when Eliezer, seeking a wife for his master’s son, Isaac, meets Rebekah at a well and asks her for a drink of water, as a test to determine if she was of a suitably generous nature to be Isaac’s wife. Private collection. consideration by the exhibition committee. In response, the judges observed that “In color and evenness of the tint, the bronzes and verd antiques bear comparison with the best French”  8 (Fig. 13). The September 17, 1869, issue of the Philadelphia Daily Evening Bull e t in c a r r ied t he fol lowi ng not ic e: “The copartnership heretofore existing under the firm and name of CORNELIUS & BAKER was dissolved by mutual consent on July 2, 1869.” Following dissolution, the former partners created two separate companies, Cornelius & Sons and Arnold & Baker, both of which continued to manufacture and sell lighting and associated fixtures. Even though the firm operated under the imprimatur “Cornelius & Baker” for only eighteen years, it represents a high water mark in the history of American lighting and parlor sculpture. While the f irm’s lighting has always enjoyed a celebrated status, its parlor sculpture is only now beginning to be recognized as a significant contribution to the arts of mid-nineteenth century America.  Donald Fennimore is curator emeritus, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. He is currently researching, with Frank L. Hohmann III, the tall clocks of William Claggett. 1. In 1825, Cornelius listed himself as silver plater and patent lamp manufacturer, and by 1833, he was listing himself solely as a manufacturer of lighting. His son Robert (1810–1893) joined the firm in 1835, according to Philadelphia city directories. 2. R. Kurt Chinnici, Argand Lighting in Philadelphia, 1800–1845, master’s thesis, Savannah College for Art and Design, 2000. 3. Anonymously authored, and printed in Philadelphia by J. B. Chandler. This pamphlet is owned by the Library Company of Philadelphia. See also “Everyday Actualities - No. VIII,” Godey’s Lady’s Book (March 1853): 97–203, and J. Leander Bishop, A History of American Manufactures from 1608 to 1860 (Philadelphia: Edward Young & Co., 1864), 553–557. 4. See Bruce Sinclair, Philadelphia’s Philosopher Mechanics: A History of the Franklin Institute, 1824– 1865 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1974), ix, x, 31. 5. Report of the Twenty-Third Exhibition of American Manufactures (Philadelphia: Franklin Institute, 1853), 21. 6. The Crystal Palace, and Its Contents: Being An Illustrated Cyclopaedia of the Great Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations (London: W. M. Clark, 1852), 294, 295. 7. For a discussion on the firm and its statuettes, see Carol A. Grissom, “The Zinc Statuettes of Cornelius and Baker,” Winterthur Portfolio, 46, no. 1 (Spring 2012): 25-61, See also her book Zinc Sculpture in America, 1850–1950 (Delaware: University of Delaware Press, 2009). 8. Report (Philadelphia: Franklin Institute, 1856), 57.