LES KOPEL
VIQUESNEY RESEARCHER, SITE AUTHOR AND MANAGER
In March of 2002, I had a little website published, which I called "Grandma Quater's Spirit of the American Doughboy Lamp", after my maternal grandmother, who in 1923 had bought a little table lamp in the form of a WWI soldier. It bore the name "E. M. Viquesney, Sculptor, Americus, Georgia" on the back. Trying to do research on my own, I came up with nothing on the lamp itself, nor the sculptor. But I did find out my lamp was a miniature of a life-size statue, and had lots of "big brothers" around the country, and, as it later turned out, thousands of little ones like mine, in the form of statuettes as well as lamps.
It was then that i was put in contact with Earl Goldsmith, who was at that time recognized as the expert on the large statues, having cataloged and corrected an earlier list of locations previously published by his predecessor T. Perry Wesley, the original Viquesney researcher. Earl at the time was looking for a way to disseminate his information, even considering the idea of self-publishing a book. Since our research was related, I offered Earl the opportunity to come on board my website. He initially provided his data on the large statues, whereas I continued to concentrate on researching Viquesney's numerous miniature works. But after I had discovered several more Viquesney Doughboy statues that weren't on Earl's list, and new information on some of the others that were, he began to consider me his equal as a Viquesney Doughboy researcher.
Thus, although the vast majority of the information pertaining to the Viquesney Doughboy statues across the county is rightly Earl's, virtually all the other information regarding Viquesney's miniatures and other works that appears on this website was compiled by me.
It became truly a joint effort.
It was then that i was put in contact with Earl Goldsmith, who was at that time recognized as the expert on the large statues, having cataloged and corrected an earlier list of locations previously published by his predecessor T. Perry Wesley, the original Viquesney researcher. Earl at the time was looking for a way to disseminate his information, even considering the idea of self-publishing a book. Since our research was related, I offered Earl the opportunity to come on board my website. He initially provided his data on the large statues, whereas I continued to concentrate on researching Viquesney's numerous miniature works. But after I had discovered several more Viquesney Doughboy statues that weren't on Earl's list, and new information on some of the others that were, he began to consider me his equal as a Viquesney Doughboy researcher.
Thus, although the vast majority of the information pertaining to the Viquesney Doughboy statues across the county is rightly Earl's, virtually all the other information regarding Viquesney's miniatures and other works that appears on this website was compiled by me.
It became truly a joint effort.
