Art Deco Bookends: Cape Cod Fisherman

The Connecticut Foundry, [c. 1928] Pair of "Cape Cod Fisherman" bookends, with The Connecticut Foundry ("C" within a triangle, within a larger circle) and 1928 copyright date engraved on back. About fine, with some natural darkening. Overall, a pleasing pair of vintage bookends. Sailors and other maritime themes were popular subjects for bookends in the early 20th century because of their literary connection (Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" as an example) and evocation of adventure and romance. The Connecticut Foundry was a metal goods company founded in 1919 by A. O. Knudson, Arthur Enquist, and Ernest Spencer, based in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, that produced a wide range of high-quality home products. Named after the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts that took place in Paris in 1925, Art Deco was a design movement that flourished in the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by sleekness and geometric lines, and influenced by industrialism, Cubism, Bauhaus, and archaeological discoveries, including King Tut's tomb in 1922. During the height of the movement, Art Deco bookends were popular objects to collect, due to their beauty, affordability, and practicality. Notably, New York City is home to a few of the world's most famous examples of Art Deco architecture: the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, and Rockefeller Center. This collection of Art Deco bookends features a wide and wonderful variety of designs and metal types. The sculpted works span historical figures like Roycroft arts-and-crafts community founder Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915), modern dance pioneer and inventor of the "Serpentine Dance" Loie Fuller (1862-1928), and the legendary literary pair Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) and his muse Beatrice Portinari (ca. 1265-1290). Other designs include lions, serpents, whales, seamen, puppies, and cherubs, among many others. The bookends were made by some of the most prominent American art metal companies of the first half of the 20th century, including PM Craftsman (est. 1911), Armor Bronze (est. 1910 as "National Metalizing Company"), Frankart (est. 1924), and Pompeian Bronze Company (est. 1889 as the "Galvano Bronze Company").. Near Fine. 4.5" x 2" x 6".