Interestingly, even pairs of “identical” model bookends, from the same maker, made at the same time, can exhibit subtle to striking variations in patina. While we are all familiar with the heavy weathered blue/green patina of the Statue of Liberty, most bookends exhibit more subtle variation, perhaps greenish “verdigris” highlights, or dark chocolate patina, or a lighter brassy color. This thin layer of oxidation on the surface gives antique bronze or copper its characteristic color and sheen - valued, you should be careful not to scratch or otherwise remove the patina. Patina is the natural oxidation of metal over a long period of time. Other bookends patterned after classic works of art include Jean-François Millet’s Angelus and Gleaners, Daniel Chester French’s Lincoln, Cyrus Edwin Dallin’s Appeal to the Great Spirit, Desiderio da Settignano’s Laughing Boy, and many others. So it follows that its popularity at the time would entice the leading manufacturers of bookends in the 1920s and 1930s to commission artists to recreate it in miniature as bookends, hence, End of the Trail can be found in several sizes by several makers in bronze-clad alone - as well as variations in iron, spelter, and solid bronze. For example, James Earle Fraser (Novem– October 11, 1953) was an American sculptor whose most famous work, End of the Trail, is a life-size bronze sculpture created for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco in 1915. Many of the best known and collected themes are found in several different versions, often inspired by a single famous painting or sculpture. Here are some of our thoughts on common topics: Variations, Patina, Cleaning, and Anomalies. From Bookends 101 you know that most are one of four types: iron, spelter, solid bronze, and bronze-clad.

Vintage bookends