Antique Bookend Shoppe

This is a lovely set of heavy original bookends featuring a young child sitting restfully with a book reading. These bookends each stand 6" tall, 4 1/2" wide, 5 3/4" deep and weigh 3 lbs. 4 oz. Both are signed S. Morani (sculptor Salvatore Morani), have the Armor Bronze hallmark and an original paper label indicating they were made at the first location in New York City. They are in very good condition. These bookends were manufactured using the highly sought after bronze-clad process. The bronze-clad method in the 1920's was highly innovative. It was an early electroform process which created some of the most outstanding bookends of that era. The process entailed placing a rod (electrode) inside a plaster mold and then using electricity to form a bronze shell around the piece. Some of these products could take up to three days to complete. The cost of time and labor was excessive. None of the foundries survived. However, today, these pieces are greatly treasured and considered show pieces in the homes of collectors.