|
click
here for an explanation of the info shown below
click here
for info on any abbreviations used below |
| reference numbers |
SML-360: Concord Minuteman
(M)
SML-360A: Concord Minuteman (bronzed) (M)
SML-360B: Concord Minuteman
(Lance 6250)
SML-360C: Concord Minuteman -M. I. S. 1975 (bronzed) (M) |
| description |
replica
of Minuteman statue in Concord, MA |
| dimensions |
height
= 4 1/2 inches |
| topics and
series |
Topics:
American
Revolution Art
& Sculpture Reproductions
Military
& War Colonial
Life & Times
Series: None: |
| related
& similar items |
SML-361
(Lexington Minuteman) |
first issued/withdrawn/
discontinued forever |
SML-360:
(1967/1975/-)
SML-360A: (1967/1975/-)
SML-360B: (1976/1976/-)
SML-360C: (1975/1975/-) |
| private
issue and/or limited edition & quantity |
not
applicable |
| era
first introduced. |
Marblehead |
| value
range |
SML-360:
65/75
SML-360A: 100/125
SML-360B: 25/35 (revised 2003)
SML-360C: 175/225 |
| auction notes |
none |
| comments/observations |
This
item continued
by Spoontiques when it assumed to assets of Hudson Creek.
Note: Shortly after the 9/11/2002 terrorist attacks, Jim Waite of
the Blossom Shop purchased Spoontiques remaining inventory of Concord
Minuteman figurines. He had inscribed on these "Citizen
Soldier; United We Stand, Sept. 11, 2001. Woody Baston signed these pieces
at Mr. Waite's request. While they are certainly 'collectible,'
Sebastianworld does not consider these pieces as 'official,' nor does it
assign a separate SML number to them because they were not produced by
Wayland Studio nor were they assigned a unique Production Number by
Wayland Studio. |
GENERAL INFORMATION
Prescott W. Baston sculpted two
minuteman statues (SML-360 and SML-361).
Are there really two such statutes or was Mr. Baston’s fertile
imagine working overtime?
On April 19, 1875, 100 years to the day the opening skirmish of the American
Revolution, the town of Concord, Massachusetts unveiled its famous Minuteman
Statue. It was dedicated to the
patriots who responded to the first alarm in an inconclusive Concord battle,
the first skirmish in the long struggle for American independence.
The sculptor was 22-year old Daniel Chester French.
French was then unknown although clearly talented.
He had recently flunked out of MIT but presumably paid more attention
when he attended Louisa May Alcott’s drawing class for girls.
He went on to create other statutes familiar to Sebastian collectors,
John Harvard (SML-25) and the memorial to Abraham Lincoln in our nation’s
capital (SML-291). Also, it did
not count against the young French that his hometown was Concord and his
father happened to be a local judge. His
heroic bronze minuteman was enthusiastically received. Even President Ulysses
S. Grant (SML-514) was on hand at its dedication although the young artist was
not; he had left for Italy to continue his studies.
Lexington,
realizing that it did not have a “minuteman to spare - although it was now a
full 25 years after the Concord dedication - decided to have its own memorial.
Indeed, the battle had moved from Concord to Lexington where the first
Americans fell on that eventful mid-April day.
The first American killed was Captain John Parker.
But it seems that any estrangement towards the British redcoats was now
history. The town hired English
sculptor Sir Henry Hudson Kitson to create its memorial.
For his model Sir Henry chose an athletic young man, Arthur G. Mather
of Medford, Massachusetts. Keen
observers noted that not only Kitson was English but so even was his model;
Mr. Mather had immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 11.
However, once the rivalry was more closely examined, Captain Isaac
Davis, supposedly the figure represented in the earlier Concord statue, was
also born in England. However, by
the time 1775 had rolled around, Davis’ allegiance was clearly with the
rebel cause.
