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JOHN ROGERS (AMERICAN, 1839-1904) "THE COUNCIL OF WAR" CIVIL WAR PLASTER STATUE, cast-plaster with a patinated surface, depicting Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and Edwin Stanton examining a map. Impressed "JOHN ROGERS / NEW YORK." and "PATENTED / MAR 31 1868." Together with a copy of Bleier John Rogers' Groups of Statuary. Two pieces total. Dated 1868. 24" HOA, 14" x 10 1/2" base. Catalogue Note: The present example is the third iteration of the grouping to be cast by Rogers. The first showed Stanton with his hands behind the head of Lincoln polishing his glasses and his gaze directly to the back of Lincoln's head; the second changed to have Stanton's hands in his pockets; and this example, the third, shows Stanton again polishing his glasses, but this time with his hands shown in front of his body. The other men remain unchanged through the variations. Collectors have theorized that the hand positions changed due to the public's questioning of Stanton's involvement in the assassination of Lincoln. The position of Stanton's hands behind the president may have resonated poorly with the buyers causing the maker to shift the positioning several times. All of this is just conjecture, and it's quite probably that the reason for variation lies in the production of the object and not in the underlying message of the positioning. The booklet included with the lot goes into detail on page 77 regarding this hypothesis.