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The deer was the product of W.H. Mullins who
began business as Bakewell and Mullins, "Sheet Metal Statuary
and Cornice Work",
Salem, Ohio in 1882.
In 1890 Mullins had bought out Bakewell and found himself sole owner of the
business which he called simply, W.H. Mullins.
He had 100 workers, a small building and a single Buckeye steam engine in his
powerhouse. Be was heavily in debt for the money he had borrowed to pay Bakewell,
and just ahead was a depression which was to close 400 banks and cause 8,000
business failures in the USA. 1890 was not a promising year to begin a new
business.
Mullins redesigned his statues and ornaments. They were lavish for their day
and with their help he sold himself and his products to the big time builders
who put Mullins work on some of the finest buildings in the country. A depression
couldn't stop Mullins. He was a good salesman and in back of every contract
were careful, skillful, ambitious employees in the modeling rooms and stamping
departments of his plant in Salem.
The ornate period of American architecture gained full blossom shortly before
1880 when every public building was decorated with statues on roof tops, in
door ways and on the ground. Even lawns of private homes boasted elks, lions
and chubby cupids as a final touch of beauty. This was the period in America
when the statue was considered the only means of paying tribute to war heroes
and other personages. This was a golden opportunity which Mullins did not miss.
His statue and ornament business flourished until 1917 and did not disappear
entirely until 1928.
Making statues from sheet metal was a radical departure from the traditional
method of carving stone or casting solid bronze. Utilizing the hot stamping
method, at which Mullins workmen were expert, figures were made from sheet
metal -copper, bronze and zinc besides being lighter, the Mullins statues could
be made faster and cheaper.
The early models were semi-clad females
representing noble ideals or seasons, justice, progress, spring -the
final touch of elegance for any court house roof. Mullins provided statues
suitable for Civil War graves and memorials. These were called "The
Skirmisher", "The
Cavalryman" and "The Color Bearer There was a line of eagles,
lions, dogs, elks for customers to choose from and anything wanted by
commission. Abraham Lincoln statues were made by the Mullins sculptor
Alfons Pelzer, from a death mask furnished by the US Government. At
least two of these still stand.
Some of Mullins special statues have almost Immortalized his company. There
was, for instance, the 18 foot statue of the goddess Diana which stood atop
of the old Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Quadriga statues for
the Wayne County Court House in Detroit, Michigan. The sculpturing was done
by the famous J. Massey Rhind and the group cost $40,000. Philip Martini, another
great sculptor, designed the "Progress" group on the New York Life
Insurance Co. building. The "Statue of Progress" revolving on the
Montgomery Ward building in Chicago was another Mullins project as was the
statuary for the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893 and the International Cotton Exposition
in Atlanta, Georgia in 1898.
The largest statue ever stamped by Mullins was "Hermann", (The principal
character in an idyllic poem by Gothe). This was a 32 foot giant for a New
Ulm, Minnesota memorial. A 12 foot statue of a miner was made for the top of
the seven story Mining Exchange building in Denver, Colorado in 1891 and cost
$1,000.00. Most statues were of heroic size and the modeling room at Mullins
could accommodate as many as 10 large statues being assembled at one time.
Local sculptors made the clay and plaster models unless an outside artist was
specified by the customer. Alfons Pelzer was one of the first modelers. John
Segesman became head modeler after Pelzer returned to his native Germany. Trained
in Switzerland, Segesman was a fine carver. He was fascinating to
watch, he could look at a picture or figure then sit down and model it in a
day. From the finished model, Tony Himmelspech made the plaster casts. From
these the dies for the hot stampings were made. The lower die was made of cast
zinc. The upper die was made of lead and fastened to a drop hammer. The metal
to be stamped was first heated then placed between the dies and smashed into
shape. Hot stamping was a ticklish business and a perfect stamped part was
a tribute to the workman's skill. The parts were trimmed, then assembled and
soldered together. When the joint was smooth, it was almost invisible. Making
a statue usually took about four weeks.
All were made to order except for the standard pieces for which dies were
kept on hand. Statues fell in importance in 1900 as
American tastes were now demanding
only simple ornamentation. The era of the statue was about over. A small
flurry of orders were received from old customers after World War 1 who
ordered war memorials. The company discontinued entirely its statue business
in 1928.
Most of the old statues are gone today. The second "Diana",
one of Mullins
greatest statues is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Her story is an
interesting one, and gives us an insight into some of the
problems of the day, the first Diana is lost.
Somewhere in America the
proud lady might still stand, viewing the changing scenes with wise eyes.
Although nude and 18 feet high, she is probably just as magnificent as when
she was first created by the great sculptor, Augustus St. Gaugens.
When Mullins received the order for the statue that was to go on Madison Square
Garden, he hired St. Gaudens to create Diana, the Goddess of the Hunt.
St. Gaudens came to Salem around 1890 to work on the plaster model of Diana.
Temperamental, he threatened to give up the whole project when Diana's big
toe fell off the plaster model. Jim Andrews, foreman of the modeling room,
met the crisis by sticking the digit back on. St Gaudens was appeased and finished
his work.
Staid Salemites objected to Diana's nudity, but she was finished anyway and
installed with much ceremony atop the Moorish Tower of Stanford White's great
architectural creation in New York.
Then New Yorkers rose in protest - some of them that is. Women's clubs in particular
demanded that this shameless creature be taken down. Diana stayed but St. Gaudens
finally added some draperies which he later removed because they spoiled the
statue's appearance.
Amid the confusion and protests, Diana's slim bronze body revolved easily with
the slightest pressure, indicating always which was the wind blew. Her firm
grip never wavered on the bowstring stretched tautly to send the arrow winging
on its way. She was a proud figure, guardian and overseer of this fabulous
New York City. Even O. Henry wrote about her.
After a few years Diana was removed and placed over the dome of the Agricultural
Building at the Chicago World's Fair. Another statue, identical, but five feet
shorter, was built by Mullins for Madison Square Garden.
For over 25 years she stood there. A windstorm blew away her scarf, but nothing
really disturbed her until the "Garden" was torn down in 1925. The
statue was offered to New York University which refused because it couldn't
afford to build a suitable tower. Salem people became interested in the fate
of Mullins' creation and attempted to bring her home, but with no success.
In 1932 the 1500 pound, heavy sheet copper statue came to rest at the Pennsylvania
Museum of Art in Philadelphia.
Thus ended an era in American architectural decoration. March 1990
Laurence F. Jonson, AACR
Association of Corporate Art Curators
Deere Art Collection Curator
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