1914 R Tait McKenzie Original Solid Bronze ~17" "Ideal" Boy Scout Statue EX RARE

Description: **Comes from Safe Sanitized Storage Area, packed with glove/mask wearing virus-free volunteers**[***NOTE- New information below added Oct.16, 2021 because of the many questions. Also PLEASE read ALL the description and information provided as many of the questions are already answered in the description. Thank You - the committee.]NOTE-There are 3 statues in some photos - the ONLY one in the auction is the tall Bronze metal one! The tall Ivory plaster one and the Gold 8.5 inch white metal one are there for comparison purposes ONLY.** Boy Scouts of America Extremely Rare Original Bronze R. Tait McKenzie Statuecirca 1914 We have been told that Mr. McKenkie then with the Philadelphia Council, a sculpturer and doctor, created this statue and image as the "ideal Scout" using several Scout models and images. We understand to raise funds for the molds he got donors. Then to thank them, he made 10 bronze statues for the donors and put their initials in the base, and made an additional 10 bronze statues without initials, making a total that he only ever made 20 Bronze Statues ever. The plaster version was made for sale through scouting until 1937. Then a smaller 8 1/2 inch white metal version was made for awards which is still produced today. (ONLY the Bronze one is in this auction. The 17" Ivory plaster one and the 8.5" Gold pot metal one are there for comparison ONLY.) Very Very Rare(Note- it is solid bronze, with a green felt bottom and extremely heavy, almost 20 pounds. Shipping will be calculated and arranged with buyer.) This is a MUSEUM QUALITY DISPLAY Scout Statue.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*** Because of several questions we have added this section answering an email inquiry & then he later requested that we post part of our answer:"Ok - first of all - unfortunately there is NO provenance or paperwork to give you, especially from these circumstances. We will of course be glad to give information if space allows (actually sent as email, as the message area did not have enough space). Second, please do not discount our description so quickly and suggest it is from some other manufacturer and also not showing provenance of your own to back up that claim for the specific statue you compared it to (Worthpoint shows a lot of statues). We are all retired Scout leaders and certainly do not try to make false claims - we did a lot of research and have done the best of our ability as far as we know. That does not mean we can not be wrong, but we believe we have put the best information we have on correctly. Of course it would be nice to get more, but this is a very very rare statue and we believe it is valued correctly! Getting something as a lifelong Scouter gift we highly approve of - if you are looking for something in that price range you mentioned - then just go to Artbronze in California and purchase one! We are certainly familiar with the company as I believe they sold (and perhaps still do) sell their McKenzie Statues modern recast copies for about $1200. We had seen them in their catalogues. This is NOT an Artbronze Co. piece! If you know their work - it has a different cast, details are different - even the copper content in their bronze is different - plus there is no 100 year old patina. They are very nice but they are NOT going to look old, but they will be bronze. Neither is it a new Roman Bronze Works out of NY, which also made a large bronze. Plus if you know your history - McKenzie did these first - he did not scale down (from the life size) - he scaled up. He had to get the funding for his molds and casting which was VERY expensive at the time. Supposedly he took about 10 and carved into the base the initials of the 10 primary donors to this project (for the DuPonts, Rockefellers, etc.) We have seen one of those 10 with initials for sale in about the 1980's as we knew runner-up bidders at that auction. Then he gave others without initials to smaller donors, friends and some Scout officials. It has been written that it was about 10 of those given out (no numbers or initials), - the actual total amount though, it said is not certain. The original statues are the same - just with and without the initials carved in. One of the best ways to tell the difference between the modern reproductions and the original casts is the weight - the reproduction modern bronze casts are hollow - whereas the originals are solid. You can just tell by the extreme weight of this statue. Now about this one. We have a travelling museum display and work with inner-city youth and Scouts. Unfortunately we NEVER wanted to sell this piece because it was supposed to be the centerpiece of the museum. However, after many years, we can not find anyone interested yet in helping fund a permanent Scout Museum - which is a shame as there is so much valuable Scout History to show and share. Especially since it is so hard to get young people interested in history - you have to make it fun and exciting and show them things their fathers and grandfathers used. You also have to show them there is more to life than just using their thumbs on video games. Besides it being very very heavy, and obviously having the patina of a 100 year old statue, we know some history. Decades ago it was said that this one had been sold for over $15,000 at auction. The picker who our owner purchased it from, purchased it at an estate sale. We surmise the estate agents did not now the history. Our owner purchased it from that picker. So no - it is not an $800 - $1200 modern reproduction statue. If you are interested in a REAL piece of history, let us know. If not, there are places you can get reproductions and smaller issues - only you know what you want to spend and how important a special limited rare piece of Scouting History is to you. All we can say is that we applaud you for thinking about getting him this type gift - any Scouter would be thrilled to get a special statue who was in Scouting. Some of us have been Scout leaders for over 40 years saying a "THANK YOU" is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give. They also have ceramic versions, which are ~17" tall - but very very fragile unfortunately. We want anyone purchasing this to be happy with their purchase. It is sold as is on its own merit, and it a fantastic piece of Scouting artwork. All we can give is the information we were given or looked up." We hope this extra information help answers more questions.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Special shipping and packing will be arranged. **NOTE - Green felt on bottom. *Remember-YOU ARE BIDDING ON WHAT IS PICTURED - NOT AN ISSUE. (We are not experts on these)* ERA: ~1914 CONDITION*: VG - EX ***NOTE - photo should be final determination on condition. What one person considers GOOD another considers VERY GOOD. Some may be said to be VG (Very Good) not because they were ever used, but because they may have been in a collection or drawer and not be perfectly flat. Usually we put Good (if slightly blemished, or taped into a book, or once used, etc.) or Very Good (pretty nice - perhaps never used, or slightly used, but still look nice) or EX, EXCELLENT (Very Nice shape, appears never used) or MINT - (Mint is Mint - almost perfect or better). We are not expert of military, scouting or Red Cross items so what you may be looking for is not what we see. Please keep that in mind. We will try our hardest to help.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SHIPPING(YES - We will pack with the utmost care and only send with insured - paid by buyer.) Option 1) Shipping to be determined. Must include insurance. Option 2) International Shipping may be considered by destination country. Please ask in advance for shipping costs to non-US or US Territory destinations. ———————————————————————————————————————————————————- ALL PROCEEDS go to Scout & Youth Educational Displays and Supplies. Please Help - If you have one of the Boy Scout Chocolate Ration Bar or Boxes available, circa 1940's - or - if you have the Boy Scouts game, circa 1930's, PLEASE let us know or if you know of someone who has one. Needed for display. Thank You. It is in great mint condition and a plus for any collection!! The Order of the Arrow, Conclave, Camporee, Pilgrimage Encampment, and JLT is part of the Boy Scouts. Please pay within 3 days. Good Luck and Thank You for looking !!! We are an older group of volunteers and we will try to help the best we can. Thank you.**** Use photo for exact item description. Not familiar on all Scouting items, but we will try our hardest to help. **** We are striving for 100% 5-STAR Service. Please email with any questions or if other payment methods are needed.We want to give you FAST, COURTEOUS & PROFESSIONAL Service.Thank you - Good Luck, Good Bidding and Good Day!!

Price: 35000 USD

Location: Silver Spring, Maryland

End Time: 2023-10-15T01:14:11.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD