Summer Americana Auction
Lot 586:
Spread-wing, full relief figure of eagle in cast-iron, its talons grasping the thunderbolts of war, the olive branch of peace and the cornucopia of plenty, with original forged steel mounting post, with a separate, later concrete block base; eagle (not incl. post or base) 20 x 16 1/2 inches; The Columbian iron hand press was invented in 1813 by Philadelphia mechanic George Clymer (1754-1834). Clymer made several dozen presses before leaving Philadelphia in 1818 to manufacture presses in England by Ritchie & Co. The eagle counterweight balanced on the counterpoise lever on the top of the press. The eagle counterweight design appears to be directly copied from the eagle device found in various insignia of the War of 1812 era, including cockade eagles and cap plates, the dies of which were sculpted by Moritz Furst of the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. Literature: An engraving of the press is pictured in The American Eagle by Phillip M. Isaacon, (Little Brown & Co., 1977), p. 50, taken from the Cyclopaedia (Philadelphia, 1813).
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