Photo: Les Kopel, Oxnard, California.
SEDALIA, MISSOURI
N 38° 42.442 / W 093° 13.683
Copyright version 1920, shet bronze.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260060.
Copyright version 1920, shet bronze.
Smithsonian Art Inventory Control Number: 47260060.
At 415 South Ohio Ave. in West center of Pettis County Courthouse Square.
The engraving on the front of the base reads:
IN MEMORY OF OUR
1917 1918
GLORIOUS DEAD
(followed by list of names)
ERECTED BY PETTIS CO. POST
NO. 16 AMERICAN LEGION
IN MEMORY OF OUR
1917 1918
GLORIOUS DEAD
(followed by list of names)
ERECTED BY PETTIS CO. POST
NO. 16 AMERICAN LEGION
Names of 50 World War I dead are on the front, and names of about 360 World War II, Korea and Vietnam dead are engraved on the other three sides.
The Doughboy’s November 12, 1926 dedication had been delayed by one day so some participants could attend the dedication of Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial (largest World War I monument in U. S.) with President Calvin Coolidge the previous day.
This is one of just four Viquesney Doughboys known to have copyright marks reading “Copyright Walter Rylander 1920.” Walter Rylander of Americus, Georgia, was Viquesney's business partner and one of the WWI veterans who was said to have posed in wartime gear as one of the models for the Doughboy, which may only be partially correct: According to Viquesney himself, the statue's face is a composite of at least 50 different WWI veterans, and he never mentioned Rylander as one of them.
In 1922 Viquesney was sued by Jules Berchem, operator of American Art Bronze Foundry of Chicago, Illinois, for copyright infringement in regard to a similar-looking statue they produced, John Paulding's "Over the Top". In January that year, Viquesney, perhaps in an attempt to raise money for an out-of-court settlement, sold all the rights to his Doughboy to Rylander, who then controlled Viquesney's American Doughboy Studios for the next four years until January 1926, when Viquesney regained the rights.
Other known Rylander copyright marks are on Doughboys at Bolivar, Missouri, St. Bernard, Ohio and Muskogee, Oklahoma. These three others were dedicated in 1925. Sedalia’s has a Rylander copyright even though Viquesney had reacquired the rights by the time it was dedicated in 1926.
Our thanks to Marshall, Missouri resident David Roscher, Roscher Photography, for the photo below, showing the Walter Rylander copyright.
The Doughboy’s November 12, 1926 dedication had been delayed by one day so some participants could attend the dedication of Kansas City’s Liberty Memorial (largest World War I monument in U. S.) with President Calvin Coolidge the previous day.
This is one of just four Viquesney Doughboys known to have copyright marks reading “Copyright Walter Rylander 1920.” Walter Rylander of Americus, Georgia, was Viquesney's business partner and one of the WWI veterans who was said to have posed in wartime gear as one of the models for the Doughboy, which may only be partially correct: According to Viquesney himself, the statue's face is a composite of at least 50 different WWI veterans, and he never mentioned Rylander as one of them.
In 1922 Viquesney was sued by Jules Berchem, operator of American Art Bronze Foundry of Chicago, Illinois, for copyright infringement in regard to a similar-looking statue they produced, John Paulding's "Over the Top". In January that year, Viquesney, perhaps in an attempt to raise money for an out-of-court settlement, sold all the rights to his Doughboy to Rylander, who then controlled Viquesney's American Doughboy Studios for the next four years until January 1926, when Viquesney regained the rights.
Other known Rylander copyright marks are on Doughboys at Bolivar, Missouri, St. Bernard, Ohio and Muskogee, Oklahoma. These three others were dedicated in 1925. Sedalia’s has a Rylander copyright even though Viquesney had reacquired the rights by the time it was dedicated in 1926.
Our thanks to Marshall, Missouri resident David Roscher, Roscher Photography, for the photo below, showing the Walter Rylander copyright.
Update July 6, 2020: The statue and base were severely vandalized. The statue will have to be removed for repairs.
Update September 30, 2020: The statue has been removed from its base and is undergoing repairs.
Update August 3, 2021: The statue is restored and has been back on its base for some time.
Update September 30, 2020: The statue has been removed from its base and is undergoing repairs.
Update August 3, 2021: The statue is restored and has been back on its base for some time.
