GAZELLE JUMPING antique art deco cast iron bookends by LITTCO For Sale

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GAZELLE JUMPING antique art deco cast iron bookends by LITTCO:
$133.39

GAZELLE JUMPING\' antique art deco cast iron bookends by LITTCO

Condition:pre loved, has some age patina, gold tone shade color loss. See photos for more condition. Otherwise each one is solid as a rock.

This is a large, heavy set of art deco antique bookends made by Littlestown Hardware and Foundry, Littlestown, PA known as LITTCO. Circa 1920. This original pair of art deco bookends depicting a Gazelle, or, Ibex jumping. They show beautifully when holding up books. A wonderful old set. Each bookend stands 5 1/8\" tall, 6\" long, 2 1/2\" wide and weighs 3 lbs. (6 lbs. for the pair). They are in very good original condition with no breaks, repairs, or, touch-ups. There\'s a chip off the bottom edge which was a casting flaw.

Littlestown Hardware and Foundry, Littlestown, PA produced a variety of decorative metal arts products made from gray iron from about 1920 to 1932. It is important to note that these were produced between the wars as the iron was too valuable and necessary to make art products and instead was solely dedicated to the war effort. They had almost 50 different bookend designs in their catalog. The majority were plated cast iron although a few had paint.

LITTCO never marked their metal arts products with a permanent shopmark or hallmark. The bookends all had paper labels generally placed on the bottom protective felt or bottom metal depending on the configuration of the base.

This is the case with a great many of the decorative art metal manufacturers that made bookends and other metal arts particularly using iron. This is one major reason why the material is one of the greatest indicators in determining the age of bookends and other metal arts objects. By the 1930’s with the Great Depression devastating the country most of the major production of bookends had ended. A few lingered into the 40’s but basically the manufacturing was over.

Today, there are reproductions of cast iron bookends produced primarily in China.

Box 1D