Copper/Bronze Plated Horse Head Bookends by Gladys Brown and Dodge c.1940s
ABOUT
This is an original pair of Art Deco style cast gray or "pot" metal horse head bookends designed by Gladys E. Brown and manufactured by Dodge Trophy Inc. Los Angeles California USA.
The bookends are signed by the artist with Dodge Inc. on the back. Both pieces have retained their original bronze and copper finish and are in good condition with appropriate patina for their age.
- CREATOR Gladys E. Brown (Artist) Dodge, Inc. (Manufacturer)
- DATE OF MANUFACTURE c.1940s.
- MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES Cast gray metal, satin bronze/copper finish.
- CONDITION Good. Wear consistent with age and use.
- DIMENSIONS H 7 in. x W 6 in. x D 4 in.
HISTORY
Dodge Inc. began in Chicago in the mid 1920s by Ray E. Dodge, a former track star in the 1924 Olympics. In 1930 he moved the company to Los Angeles to begin making Oscars for Hollywood's Academy Awards and in 1949 began producing Hollywood's Emmys.
Catalogs for Dodge Inc. of Los Angeles, Newark and Miami advertised their "Master-line of Gifts for the Discriminating Buyer," listing more than 20 different pairs of bookends, including pieces designed by McClelland, Barclay and Gladys E. Brown – selling for $10 to $40 a pair.
The company used 5 different finishes for its cast metal pieces, but their trademark high-gloss bronze finish with two-tone highlights of rich red-golden copper from the southwest's great copper mines earned Dodge the tag line, "The Best of the West," which can be found on their stickers.
