JENNINGS BROTHERS DANTE BEATRICE BOOKENDS SIGNED

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Auction Description: ALL SERIOUS OFFERS WILL CERTAINLY BE CONSIDERED SO DO NOT HESITATE MAKING AN OFFER. "DANTE AND BEATRICE" A little about Jennings Brothers The Jennings Brothers began their metalwork foundry in Bridgeport , Connecticut in 1891 and remained open until the early 1950s. Jennings Brothers produced some of the most finely crafted art metal pieces that exist to this day. Their product line ranged from bookends to candlesticks to animal figurines, etc. Their methods of production required meticulous techniques which did not lend themselves to machine-directed mass production, but rather depended upon the handiwork of expert artists, sculptors and metal craftsman. Jennings Brothers metalwork is highly prized and their distinctive "JB" mark, which marked all of their products, is highly sought after by collectors world-wide. Jennings employed many new immigrants to the U.S. and their designs had an international flair. Jennings, at one point, had over 3000 pieces in their catalog. Their business peaked in the 1920 and 1930s. Many of their pieces were miniatures of well-known sculptures like the Seated Lincoln or the Lion of Lucerne . All Jennings Brothers pieces were made of cast white metal or spelter ... although they are often mistaken for bronze or even silver ... because of their high quality crafting and fine rich patination . T is no other major metalwork foundry from this era with finishes as durable as Jennings Bros and the complexity of their designs is highly prized. Note that the Philadelphia Manufacturing Company (this is the company that is known as "PM Craftsman" or "PMC") bought out the old Jennings Brothers molds in the 1960s. They have remanufactured some of the old Jennings molds. Patinas on the new pieces are quite different from the originals and the "JB" markings are not in the typical locations or not t at all. It is my pleasure to offer this most difficult to find Jennings Brothers set of bookends to this online community. Made in the early to mid roaring 20âe(tm)s this wonderful set is not only one of the finest, but also one of the rarest in color. I have owned this set several times in the past, but I have never had but one set in this wonderful color. This particular set was cast in the slush mold process and to appreciate the complexity of type of production casting one should see the 1997 edition of Gerald McBrides, âe~Collectors Guide to Cast Metal Bookendsâe(tm) which explains in detail the steps of casting objects using the hollow form process or slush molding. This pair depicts wonderfully designed theatrical writer Dante and his love Beatrice, and listed in Louis Kuritzky and Charles DeCostaâe(tm)s Collectorâe(tm)s Encyclopedia of Bookends guide, âe~DANTE & BEATRICEâe(tm) . The artistic designers for Jennings captured the details of Dante and Beatrice emerging from the fronts of slightly opened books. An unusual design in deed and exclusive to this pair. With very close examination of these pieces you will find the original aged bronze gilt and wonderful greenish patina finish to be nearly 100% intact with no breaks, cracks, separations, and felt replacement coverings perfectly applied. The only minute wear to mention along the most extreme edges and book-side w they have worn ever so slightly and a very tiny flea bite on Danteâe(tm)s nose. The nicest aged patina I have every owned in a Jennings set. These impressive and highly detailed pieces measure nearly 5 1/2âe Tall, 5 3/4âe wide, and nearly 8âe in depth the pair. I doubt that these will be seen for some time and especially in this absolutely wonderful condition, so now is your chance to acquire these old and desirable pieces. Please look at the actual photos below to see what is being offered. I take clear and precise pictures and do not computer enhance them with special effects, texture softening, or color alterations to make my items difficult to tell what is being auctioned. The pictures show nearly the e... read more

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