Previous image preload Next image preload
Back to catalog
Lot 63
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3 image_4 image_5 image_6 image_7 image_8
Bronze Right Hand of Lincoln from 1860 Volk Life Casting
Bronze Right Hand of Lincoln from 1860 Volk Life Casting
image_0 image_1 image_2 image_3 image_4 image_5 image_6 image_7 image_8
Description:

Bronze Right Hand of Lincoln from 1860 Volk Life Casting

This solid bronze casting of Abraham Lincoln's right hand was likely cast from one of several bronze castings that were prepared in 1886 from a plaster mold made by sculptor Leonard Wells Volk in Springfield, Illinois, in May 1860, shortly after the Republican Party nominated Lincoln as their nominee for president.

[ABRAHAM LINCOLN] Leonard W. Volk, Bronze Casting of Abraham Lincoln's Right Hand, ca. 1880s. 7" x 5" x 3.5". Inscription on the bottom reads, "A. LINCOLN. / fecit 1860 L. W. Volk."

Historical Background
Leonard W. Volk first met Abraham Lincoln during Lincoln's historic 1858 debates with Volk's wife's cousin, Stephen A. Douglas. When they met, Lincoln promised to sit for the young sculptor. When Lincoln was attending court in the spring of 1860 in Chicago, Volk went to the courthouse and reminded Lincoln of his promise. Lincoln agreed to visit Volk's studio, where Volk made a plaster mask of Lincoln's face to reduce the number of sittings that would be necessary.

In May, Volk traveled by train to Springfield to deliver the bust. Volk arrived shortly after news of Lincoln's nomination for the Presidency by the Republicans meeting in Chicago. Volk insisted that he needed to create a full-length statue of Lincoln, and Volk took measurements and made casts of Lincoln's hands. Volk suggested that Lincoln should be holding something in his right hand, so Lincoln went to the woodshed and returned with the end of a piece of a broom handle. After taking the measurements and making the casts, Volk returned to Chicago.

Volk never completed the statue, and he gave the casts of Lincoln's face and hands to his son Douglas Volk (1856-1935), who was an accomplished painter. In 1888, a group of thirty-three individual and institutional subscribers presented the original plaster mask and hands and "the first bronze cast of the face-mold, and bronze casts of the hands" to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, with the condition that "the original plaster casts should never be tampered with." Each of the subscribers received either a plaster or bronze set of replicas, and future casts were likely made from one or more of these bronze replicas.

Possible Provenance
The owners of this piece provided the following provenance:
• 1882: W. H. H. Smith (1841-1930) purchased it at auction of White House materials
• W. H. H. Smith to his son, Charles S. Smith (1867-1951), who married Olive Mitchell Thompson (1889-1982)
• 1977: Charles S. Smith to his nephew Earl L. Thompson (1927-2007)
• 1999: sold through Global Booksearch

In 1881, new President James Garfield and his First Lady Lucretia Garfield moved into the White House and made plans to refurbish the Green Room. Before they had an opportunity, a disgruntled office seeker shot President Garfield, and he died a few months later. His Vice President Chester A. Arthur did not move into the White House until it had been redecorated, and the rooms were cleared of damaged and unfashionable furniture. Ultimately, the Duncanson Brothers, Washington auctioneers, sold twenty-four wagonloads of furniture and thirty barrels of china at an auction held on April 14, 1882. A crowd of 5,000 bid on the items, which included "some antique articles and souvenirs among these goods," though no contemporary accounts mention bronzes of Lincoln's hands or face. A Baltimore newspaper reported that "Furniture of the pre-Lincoln period did not bring high rates, but a few articles from the antique times before Jackson found purchasers at good prices" (The Sun [Baltimore, MD], April 15, 1882, 4:1). It seems unlikely that this bronze casting was created before 1886. Therefore, it could not have been sold in the 1882 auction of White House furnishings. It is more likely that W. H. H. Smith obtained a bronze replica sometime after 1886.

Leonard Wells Volk (1828-1895) was born in New York and followed his father's trade as a marble cutter in Massachusetts. In 1848, Volk opened an artist's studio in St. Louis, Missouri. His wife's cousin, Stephen A. Douglas, supported Volk's travel to Rome for additional study from 1855 to 1857. When he returned to the United States, Volk settled in Chicago, where he helped found the Chicago Academy of Design, the precursor to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In the spring of 1860, Abraham Lincoln sat for Volk while attending court in Chicago. In mid-May 1860, Volk presented a completed cabinet bust to the Lincolns in Springfield and asked to cast Lincoln's hands.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

WE PROVIDE IN-HOUSE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE.

Other Bronzes Made from the Volk Castings

Douglas Volk apparently gave the casts on to a fellow art student named Wyatt Eaton (1849-1896). In 1886, poet and editor Richard Watson Gilder (1844-1909) saw them in Eaton's studio and, with sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and art collector Thomas B. Clarke, began a subscription list to donate them to the Smithsonian Institution. Subscribers could purchase a set of plaster replicas for $50 or bronze replicas for $85. However, the bronze hands had the following inscription on the wrist end: "COPYRIGHT 1886 BY LEONARD W. VOLK. THIS CAST OF THE HAND OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN WAS MADE FROM THE FIRST REPLICA OF THE ORIGINAL MADE AT SPRINGFIELD ILL THE SUNDAY FOLLOWING HIS NOMINATION TO THE PRESIDENCY." Saint-Gaudens used Volk's castings to prepare his larger-than-life bronze sculpture Abraham Lincoln: The Man, which resides in Lincoln Park in Chicago.

The Art Institute of Chicago has a complete set of bronze hands and face donated by Leonard Volk himself on December 2, 1891. They have similar markings as this hand; the wrist end reads "A. LINCOLN / L. W. VOLK / fecit 1860." Although the precise date of the Art Institute's bronzes is unknown, curators believe the bronzes were made prior to the donation of the original plaster casts to the Smithsonian in 1888.

Jules Berchem (1855-1930), who worked in Volk's studio, did a bronze version of the mask and hands from a model he received from Volk. Berchem was the proprietor of the American Art Bronze Foundry in Chicago and cast many works of art, including the castings of Edward Kemeys's Lions outside the Art Institute of Chicago in 1893. Berchem presented a set to the Chicago Historical Society in 1913. The inscription on the wrist end reads "Presented by J. Berchem / A. LINCOLN / L. W. VOLK / 1860 fecit."

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Paypal, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

We do our own in-house worldwide shipping!

Applicable shipping and handling charges will be added to the invoice. We offer several shipping options, and remain one of the few auction houses who proudly provides professional in-house shipping as an option to our clients. All items will ship with signature required, and full insurance. Most items are sent via Federal Express, with P. O. Box addresses being sent through USPS. We insure through Berkley Asset Protection with rates of $.70 per $100 of value, among the lowest insurance rates in the industry. Our shipping department cameras document every package, both outgoing and incoming, for maximum security. In addition, we compare our shipping and handling rates against those of other auction houses, to ensure that our charges are among the lowest in the trade.

Upon winning your item(s), you will receive an invoice with our in-house shipping and handling fees included. ***We will ship to the address as it appears on your invoice, unless you inform us otherwise, immediately upon your receipt of invoice***

International shipments: In order to comply with our insurance provider, all international shipments will be sent via Fed Ex and customs paperwork will show a value of $1.00. International buyers should contact our office directly with any questions regarding this policy.

Third Party Shipping Option: If a third party shipper is preferred, the buyer is responsible for contacting them directly to make shipping arrangements. For your convenience, we have provided some recommended shippers. For your protection, we will require a signed release from you, confirming your authorization for us to release your lots to your specified third party Please copy and paste this following link into your browser: http://universityarchives.com/UserFiles/ShippingInfo.pdf. At that point, our responsibility and insurance coverage for your item(s) ceases. Items picked up by third party shippers are required to pay Connecticut sales tax. Items requiring third party shipping due to being oversized, fragile or bulky will be denoted in the item description.

Please see our full terms and conditions for names of suggested third party shippers.


After payment has been made in full, University Archives will ship your purchase within 10 business days following receipt of full payment for item.


Please remember that the buyer is responsible for all shipping costs from University Archives' offices in Wilton, CT to the buyer's door. Please see full Terms and Conditions of Sale.

February 16, 2022 10:30 AM EST
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of 25% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $299 $20
$300 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $2,999 $200
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 + $5,000