Above: An original Friedley-Voshardt ad for "The Spirit of the American Doughboy". It's now known that although Viquesney designed this version of the statue, it was actually sculpted by Friedley-Voshardt Company's head of sculpture department Paul Mohrmann (misspelled as "Mohrman" in the ad at left).

1920: THE ORIGINAL SHEET BRONZE
"SPIRIT OF THE AMERICAN DOUGHBOY"

Of all the over 140 instances of E. M. Viquesney's "Spirit of the American Doughboy" still standing, the vast majority, over 120, are the original welded sheet bronze version, introduced in 1921. They were made of around 75 thin sheets of bronze, pressed by a mechanical forge, then welded together. It was this version of the Doughboy that propelled Viquesney to fame and assured his reputation as a designer of war statuary.

just because it's SHEET BRONZE, doesn't mean it's a viquesney

Because Viquesney was so well-known for fabricating many of his Doughboys from welded sheet bronze, some think that if their WWI statue is also made that way, it must also be by him. But other companies used the sheet bronze method of construction, among them the W. H. Mullins Company of Salem, Ohio, which probably made the sheet bronze statues shown below, at Bloomington, Indiana (left), and Tavares, Florida, but which are locally misidentified as Viquesney Doughboys. We say "probably made by" because many other identical statues are known to be made by Mullins. 

Photo: Stan Griffith, Bloomington, Indiana.

The statue above is misidentified as a Viquesney Doughboy in the Rose Hill Cemetery online walking tour guide, and on Waymarking.com. The actual title of this statue is "War Mothers' Monument", according to Smithsonian IAS record IN000695. Although the record lists the artist as "unknown", the statue is identical to ones in Funkstown, MD, and Warren, PA, both known to be made by W. H. Mullins of Salem, Ohio.

Photo: Flickr member ''Kevystew''. Used by permission.

A 1993 article in the Orlando Sentinel asked the public's help in determining the artist who sculpted this statue. Later articles speculated that, because of its pressed sheet bronze construction, this statue in Tavares, FL, was a Viquesney, but it isn't. It's one of a number in this pose, many of which are known to have been produced by W. H. Mullins Company of Salem, Ohio.

Since this photo was taken, the statue has been moved to a new location in front of the administration building at 315 W. Main Street.

Below: The company that supplied the raw sheet bronze to Friedley-Voshardt (and to probably many other companies) was the Rome Brass & Copper Company of Rome, New York.

1922 Company Catalogue.