Something
to Crow About
By Robert Reed
One of the most enduring symbols
in earlier America was the rooster. It was a dominant image for
this country's classic folk art including weathervanes, wood carvings,
and windmill weights.
Later the traditional rooster would be crowing on an assortment
of American crafted things including hooked rugs, cookie jars and
even salt pepper shakers.
Historians suggest that the rooster was one of the earliest choices
for weathervanes designed in the United States and Canada. Prior
to the 18th century it had been widely used in Europe on church
steeples of the Christian faith. To Christians the rooster represented
the New Testament's account of Peter's three-time denial of Christ
when such an animal crowed twice.
 The
French referred to such a rooster image as a chantecler, other name
variations included cockerall or often times in the case of a weathervane,
the weathercock. By whatever name they were readily visible atop
shrines, churches and barns throughout North America during the
1700s and 1800s.
Certainly one of the oldest rooster designs used in America was
the copper cockerall that adorned the steeple of the Dutch Reform
Church at Albany, New York. The symbol dated from the 1650s and
made largely of copper. Another early rooster weathervane, crafted
in 1715, stood atop the Rocky Hill Church, in Amesbury, Massachusetts.
It too was riveted from sections of copper.
During the 1720s on of the most famous weathervane makers in New
England, Shem Drowne, was fashioning rooster weathervanes in the
rooster image. One of his best works was the giant Revenge Cockerel
which stood atop the First Revenge Church of Christ. Said to be
hammered from copper kettles, it weighed more than 170 pounds. History
records it was blown down during a storm and crashed through the
room of a nearby house landing in the kitchen.
 At
times the basic copper of rooster weathervanes was enhanced with
sections of gold leaf and decorated further with yellow paint. By
the 1790s such roosters were frequently painted and sometimes wood
and metal were incorporated to form a complete united. On occasion
rooster legs were make of wrought iron.
By the early 19th century the rooster weathervane remained popular
and could be found made simply of wood or constructed of whatever
metals were available. Typically the wooden roosters were finished
with a paint coat of yellow or reddish brown. While the wooden versions
could be repainted from time to time, often they eventually gave
way to the ravages of weather. As a result it is difficult today
to find prime examples of 19th century wooden rooster weathervanes.
Weathervane manufacturing had become a prosperous trade by 1850
and the strictly wooden rooster had been generally replaced with
metal versions. In many ways the use of metal allowed for more creativity.
 Typically
such rooster weathervanes were the hand-made by a small group of
craftsmen working together in the second half of the 19th century.
"Usually only three or four craftsmen, often members of the
same family, comprised a company," according to Adele Earnest
author of the book Folk Art in America. "Usually a professional
wood carver was hired to create the original wood model. The design
might be adapted from a popular print. The piece molds were cast
from the carving; dies into which two copper sheets could be hand-hammered
and soldered together to create the three-dimensional (but hollow)
weathervane."
In some cases profiles were cut from hammered sheets and metal to
form the rooster. The profiles were pierced so they would better
withstand strong winds before being joined together. Some craftsmen
used an original wooden form inside the sheets to provide a more
substantial shape before joining the sheets.
Next came the painting which, like earlier practices, involved a
base coat of yellow paint. However golden gilding was also added
as a final touch to the metal, and it could be updated from time
to time.
"The fact that copper was so easily hammered gave the artist
a good chance to get texture into the features of the rooster,"
noted Erwin Christen in The Index of American Design. "This
was done more for the sake of variety than zoological accuracy."
And while rooster weathervanes were popular in the latter part of
the 19th century they were not the only forms of the familiar barnyard
animal. In Pennsylvania for example, carver Wilhelm Schimmel traveled
the countryside during the 1870s fashioning roosters and other creatures
from pine wood. Today prize examples of the painted works are found
at the Henry Ford Museum and the Museum of American Folk Art.
Elsewhere there were roosters of chalk ware, and intricate roosters
in whirligigs which often sat atop windmills in rural areas of the
country. Additionally there were roosters used as targets in late
19th century shooting galleries, and even a brief attempt at carving
roosters to go along with other animals for carrousel rides.
"It was hoped that novelty would attract trade," explains
Christensen. "However it was soon discovered the children invariably
chose the horses and particularly the dappled kind. After that,
the strange menageries, also including bears, reindeers, and giraffes,
was abandoned."
America in the 1890s witnessed a significant number of commercial
companies in the business of manufacturing rooster-type weathervanes.
Firms like J. W. Fiske, L. W. Cushing & Sons, E.G. Washburne
Company and J. Howard and Company provided an endless variety of
roosters. Some examples included hens, and some came with stylized
pineapple finials which were said to denote hospitality.
Materials varied considerably shortly before the dawn of the 20th
century. Wood was used on a very limited basis while the selection
of metals everything from copper to zinc. There was also a trend
toward use of cast iron at least for parts of the rooster weathervanes.
The 1890s also saw a rise in another form rooster, the mill weight.
A major contributor was the Elgin Windmill Power Company of Elgin,
Illinois. The firm used animal forms for many sizes of mill weights
ranging from eight to 85 pounds. The cast iron images were typically
from 15 to 18 inches tall. In practice they were individually attached
to the windmill and used to pump water to other parts of the farm.
Elgin and others continued to make rooster-image mill weights into
the 20th century, and while earlier examples were simply painted
white later issues were sometimes given red and yellow detailing.
Today such surviving figural mill weights, even those with slight
surface imperfections, can be highly collectible.
As early as the 1930s the Pottery Guild of America had adopted the
rooster's wistful likeness for crafting cookie jars. In later years
other cookie jar makers followed suit including Sierra Vista, American
Bisque, Gilner, McCoy, and even California's Twin Winton.
By the middle of the 20th century roosters of the past were being
re-discovered as grand American folk art. Weathervanes and wood
carvings were retrieved from playgrounds and attic trunks to be
claimed as prized collectibles. Today such classic rooster images
command major attention at leading shops and auction galleries.
Captions
1. (already on first page)
2. Rooster weathervane, Massachusetts, ca. 1780. Polychromed wood
and wrought iron.
3. Hooked rug depicting a hen and rooster, New England, 19th century.
(Skinner auction photo).
4. Rare miniature rooster weathervane. Copper with traces of gold
leaf, J.W. Fiske, New York City, ca. 1890. (Skinner auction photo)
©
2012 Mountain States Collector |
