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Autographs Sensational Augustus Saint-Gaudens Autographed Letter Signed with His Design for the Creation of His Memorial to Civil War Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the Heroic Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Black Soldiers AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS (March 1, 1848 - August 3, 1907). Historic and Famous "American Renaissance" Sculptor of major critical success in the design of monuments commemorating heroes of the American Civil War, many of which still stand, including his most famous works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, located directly across from the steps of the Massachusetts State House on Beacon Hill. September 9, 1889-Dated, Autographed Letter Signed, "Augustus St. Gaudens," 2 pages, folded sheet, measuring 8" x 5" and regarding the creation of his memorial to Civil War Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the heroic Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Black soldiers, Choice Very Fine. This original two page handwritten letter is dated Sept. 9, 1889 from Saint Gaudens, to Mr. (Edward) Atkinson, with his early drawing of the monument dimensions on the top portion of page one (about 14 ft. across - about 12 ft. high).Edward Atkinson (1827-1905) was a founder of the Anti-Imperialist League and Treasurer for the Shaw Monument Committee, which was founded in 1865 by Massachusetts Governor Samuel G. Howe, plus former Governor Andrew, Senator Charles Sumner, Henry Lee and other notables. I this role Atkinson raised and invested funds, corresponding regularly with Saint-Gaudens. His papers are still held today at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Atkinson, was also President of the Boston Insurance Company, was a well respected Bostonian, a "Free-Soil" supporter, and one of the foremost economists in support of free trade and the use of the Gold Standard.Sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and the creation of his memorial monument to Civil War Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the heroic Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Black Soldiers is considered to be one of his finest achievements and a masterpiece of American Renaissance Sculpture. It is one of the most popular historic sites in Boston, both for its Civil War Heroism and remarkable importance in American Black History, being located on the Boston Common across from the Massachusetts State House.Robert Gould Shaw (1837 - July 18, 1863) was the Union Colonel in command of the all-Black Massachusetts 54th Regiment, which entered the American Civil War in 1863. He was killed in a failed attempt to capture the Confederate Fort Wagner, near Charleston, South Carolina at age 25. He is the principal subject of the 1989 film "Glory" with Shaw portrayed by Matthew Broderick.The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment was a Union infantry regiment that saw extensive service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. This regiment was one of the first official Black units in the United States during the Civil War. The regiment was disbanded after the Civil War, but retains a strong legacy. A monument, constructed 1884-1898 by Augustus Saint-Gaudens on the Boston Common, is part of the Boston Black Heritage Trail.A famous composition by Charles Ives, "Col. Shaw and his Colored Regiment", the opening movement of Three Places in New England, is based both on the monument and the regiment. Colonel Shaw and his men also feature prominently in Robert Lowell's Civil War Centennial poem "For the Union Dead" (1964); Lowell invokes the realism of the Saint-Gaudens monument in this stanza:"Two months after marching through Boston,half the regiment was dead;at the dedication,William James could almost hear the bronze Negroes breathe.Later he unflinchingly looks at Shaw's and his men's death in the powerful stanza:Shaw's father wanted no monumentexcept the ditch,where his son's body was thrownThis original letter is boldly written in flowing rich fountain pen ink, on period paper, having a mailing fold, with a vivid hand drawn sketch of the proposed monument design and size at the upper portion of the page, just below the name of the recipient. It reads, in full:"Dear Mr. Atkinson --- Above are rough dimensions of the Shaw. I've just returned from Europe and will be at the work again in a day or two. The sketches for two of the Negroes are finished & that means they are virtually done in the larger. The horse as you know of is about finished -- and the Shaw I'm keeping to devote a month or so to when all is done. --- Yours Truly, - Augustus St. Gaudens - 148 West 36th Street - Sept. 9/89".2. This Augustus Saint-Gaudens Autographed Letter is Also Accompanied by an original, 98 page, Dedication Book for this Monument to Robert Gould Shaw, Printed by Riverside Press 1897, 10" x 8", containing the various speeches and dedications etc., Very Fine.3. Also accompanied by an original printing of the June 5, 1897-Dated Issue of "The Critic" (a weekly review journal. Some original articles. Published in New York). This edition includes a nearly 1/2 page report and review, under "The Fine Arts" section, on the New Memorial to Robert Shaw and the 54th Colored Regiment, designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. Other topics of interest as well, some illustrations, 16 pages in all. The Newsstand issue had outside cover which is missing from this issue being taken from bound volume. A clean and easily readable period report, issued at the time of the monument's original unveiling.This remarkable, original letter by St. Gaudens is no standard letter. It specifically mentions major design features of what is considered by many to be his most famous major work. The use of his hand drawn detail sketch makes this item even more important and desirable. The connection to this famous Civil War monument to Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the Heroic Massachusetts Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Black Soldiers remains one of the most cherished in American Black History as a source of pride and its role in becoming a key turning point in the Black experience in this country. We place what we believe to be a modest estimate on this unique piece of American history. (3 items). Augustus Saint-Gaudens (March 1, 1848 - August 3, 1907) was the Irish-born American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts generation who most embodied the ideals of the "American Renaissance". Raised in New York City, he traveled to Europe for further training and artistic study, and then returned to major critical success in the design of monuments commemorating heroes of the American Civil War, many of which still stand. In addition to his famous works such as the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common and the outstanding grand equestrian monuments to Civil War generals John A. Logan, atop a tumulus in Chicago, 1894-97, and William Tecumseh Sherman, at the corner of New York's Central Park, 1892-1903, Saint-Gaudens also maintained an interest in numismatics and designed the twenty-dollar "double eagle" gold piece, for the US Mint in 1905-1907, still considered the most beautiful American coin ever issued as well as the $10 "Indian Head" gold eagle, both of which were minted from 1907 until 1933. In his later years he founded the "Cornish Colony", an artistic colony that included notable painters, sculptors, writers, and architects. His brother, Louis St. Gaudens was also a well known sculptor with whom he occasionally collaborated.In 1876 Saint-Gaudens received his first major commission; a monument to Civil War Admiral David Farragut, in New York's Madison Square; his friend Stanford White designed an architectural setting for it, and when it was unveiled in 1881, its naturalism, its lack of bombast and its siting combined to make it a tremendous success, and Saint-Gaudens' reputation was established. The commissions followed fast: the colossal Standing Lincoln in Lincoln Park, Chicago in a setting by architect White, 1884-1887, considered the finest portrait statue in the United States (A copy was placed at Lincoln's tomb in Springfield, Illinois, another copy stands in London in front of Westminster Abbey facing Parliament Square); a long series of funerary monuments and busts: the Adams Memorial, the Peter Cooper Monument, and the John A. Logan Monument, the greatest of which is the bronze bas-relief that forms the Robert Gould Shaw Memorial on Boston Common, 1884-1897, Saint-Gaudens labored on it for fourteen years, and even after the public version had been unveiled, he continued with further versions. Two grand equestrian monuments to Civil War generals are outstanding: to General John A. Logan, atop a tumulus in Chicago, 1894-1897, and to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the corner of Central Park in New York, 1892-1903, the first use of Robert Treat Paine's pointing device for the accurate mechanical enlargement of sculpture models.For the Lincoln Centennial in 1909 Saint-Gaudens produce another statue of the president. A seated figure, it is in Chicago's Grant Park. The head was used for the commemorative postage stamp issued on the 100th anniversary of Lincoln's birthSaint-Gaudens referred to his early relief portraits as "medallions" and took a great interest in the art of the coin: his twenty-dollar gold piece, the double eagle coin he designed for the US Mint, 1905-1907, though it was adapted for minting, is still considered the most beautiful American coin ever issued.Chosen by Theodore Roosevelt to redesign the coinage of the nation at the beginning of the 20th century, Saint-Gaudens produced a beautiful high-relief $20 gold piece that was adapted into a flattened-down version by the United States Mint. The high-relief coin took up to eleven strikes to bring up the details, and only 12,367 of these coins were minted in 1907.Two major versions of his coins are known as the "Saint Gaudens High Relief Roman Numerals 1907" and the "Saint Gaudens Arabic Numerals 1907-1933". Other extremely rare types of Saint-Gaudens double eagles, minted in 1907, are prized by collectors and valued from $10,000 to millions of dollars.The Saint-Gaudens obverse design was reused in the American Eagle gold bullion coins that were instituted in 1986. An "ultra-high relief" $20 (24 karat) gold coin was issued by the U.S. Mint in 2009.Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site in Cornish, New Hampshire, preserves the home, gardens, and studios of Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848-1907), one of America's foremost sculptors. This was his summer residence from 1885 to 1897, his permanent home from 1900 until his death in 1907, and the center of the Cornish Art Colony. There are two hiking trails that explore the park's natural areas. Original sculptures are on exhibit.The National Historic Site was authorized by Congress on August 31, 1964, and established on May 30, 1977. Besides the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, this is the only National Park Service site in New Hampshire. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. (From Wikipedia)