Mephistopheles Bookends

Mephistopheles: An urbane and mischief-making Devil

Each bookend is a bust of a gentlemanly individual, but his horns, and perhaps his devilish smile, identify him as Mephistopheles.  Mephistopheles can be traced to the Faust legend in Germany.  Faust, the man, was a physician, a magician and an alchemist who worked in the seventeenth century and became the object of literature at that time.  Mephistopheles appears in this literature as an agent of the devil who tempts Faust to give up his soul for worldly success and pleasure.

The bookends are only 4.5 inches high, but they are solid lead and each one weighs 4 pounds.  Lead means they are from the early twentieth century or perhaps somewhat earlier,  and this is the only pair we have ever seen.  They were purchased at Brimfield in 2009 and appear in BOOKENDS: Objects of Art and Fashion on page 41.

 

ANNOUNCEMENT!!! – BOOKENDS: Objects of Art and Fashion by Robert and Donna Seecof

Robert and Donna Seecof wrote the first book on bookends in 1995 (Bookend Revue, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 1996). At that time we briefly addressed bookends as works of art. Since that time we have become more aware of bookends as a medium of art and fashion, and we have attempted to show these relationships in this new volume, BOOKENDS: Objects of Art and Fashion, available now from Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.

We owe special thanks to Charles DeCosta, who generously allowed us to present some of the bookends from his outstanding collection, which can be viewed at antiquebookendcollection.com.

Over 350 vivid color photos and engaging text reveal that bookends have been a medium of art from the turn of the twentieth century to today. The photos illustrate 350 pairs of bookends from principal art styles, and the research places them in historical context, creating an illustrated art history of the twentieth century.  Accompanying the photos are identification of the production date, the foundry, sculptor, art style, commentary, and values. The bookends presented have documented American art fashions for the past one hundred years. This novel guide also organizes bookends by art style and historical period, rather than subject matter, which gives the reader new insight into the evolution of bookends in a dynamic culture. Reader will come to regard bookends as works of art and will be knowledgeable about their rightful place in the art world.

Front Cover of BOOKENDS: Objects of Art and Fashion by Robert and Donna Seecof

Back Cover of BOOKENDS: Objects of Art and Fashion illustrating some of the fashionable bookends of the 20th Century

 

Metropolis Bookends: Hel and Freder

Hel. The female robot from the film Metropolis

The German silent movie METROPOLIS was released in 1927.  Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang, it has become a classic film and it can be viewed at the METROPOLIS website.  METROPOLIS is a science fiction vision of the social effects  of Capitalism. One of the protagonists in the story is Hel, a female robot who is shown wearing a helmet, surrounded by pulsating rings, and is given a human face.  This pair of bookends apparently represents Hel.  It is unmarked, 6.25 inches tall, bronze and marble, with a celluloid face.  Celluloid hands are missing from this pair.  Because of the marble base and celluloid parts, it is attributed to the Hirsch foundry, circa 1931.

Freder. The hero from the film Metropolis

The male protagonist in METROPOLIS is named Freder.  He deals with long clock hands and immense levers and switches in parts of the film.  This pair of bookends apparently represents Freder, wearing futuristic clothing and enmeshed in abstract levers and switches.  The pair is unmarked, six inches tall, gray metal and marble, and attributed to the Hirsch Foundry, circa 1931.