Goscombe John
Sir William Goscombe John RA (21 February 1860 – 15 December 1952) was a prolific Welsh sculptor known for his many public memorials.
Goscombe John | |
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![]() William Goscombe John by George Roilos | |
Born | Cardiff, Wales | 21 February 1860
Died | 15 December 1952 92) London, England | (aged
Education |
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Known for | Sculpture |
Movement | New Sculpture |
Biography
He was born in the Canton area of Cardiff,[1] and as a youth assisted his father, Thomas John, a wood carver, in the restoration of Cardiff Castle. He initially studied in his home town, attending the Cardiff School of Art.[2] He went to London in 1882 and studied at the South London School of Technical Art under Jules Dalou and William Silver Frith and afterward at the Royal Academy schools, where he won the gold medal and a travelling scholarship in 1887.[3] In 1890–91 he studied in Paris with Auguste Rodin.[3] He married the Swiss-born Marthe Weiss. Their daughter Muriel married Frederick Luke Val Fildes, the son of the artist Sir Luke Fildes.[4]
As a young man he adopted the first name Goscombe, taken from the name of a village in Gloucestershire near his mother's home.[5]
Goscombe John returned to Paris in 1892 to show a statuette, Morpheus at the Paris Salon.[6] John embraced the vigous naturalistic style of the New Sculpture movement and cemented his reputation with works such as John the Baptist for Lord Bute and with a number of life-sized figures including The Elf and Boy at Play.[6] By the early 1890s John had established himself as a sculptor of some note and began to receive significant public commissions.[6] Although based in London, John won a number of large commissions in his native Wales. These included his 1916 marble St David Blessing the People and ten other figures for Cardiff City Hall.[6]
Goscombe John was commissioned to design many public monuments and statues of public figures such as the shipping magnate and philanthropist John Cory; John's statue of the latter was erected in front of Cardiff City Hall. In 1921 he designed the memorial at Port Sunlight to the employees of Lever Brothers Ltd who had died in the First World War; he also sculpted portraits of Lord and Lady Lever. He received a gold medal in Paris in 1901, was made a Royal Academician in 1909, was knighted in 1911, and became corresponding member of the French Institute.[3] He settled in Greville Road, Kilburn, London (in a house that had previously belonged to Seymour Lucas), and is buried in Hampstead Cemetery.[7] The memorial statue of his wife, which he designed when she died in 1923, was stolen from the cemetery in 2001 but recovered after a few months; it was put into secure storage, but was again stolen in early 2007.
Public memorials
1890–1899
Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates |
Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
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Daniel Owen | Mold, Flintshire | c.1896 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze & stone | Grade II | Q29480968 | [8][9] | |
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The Elf | Kibble Palace, Botanic Gardens, Glasgow | 1899 | Statue on plinth | Marble | 2.25m high | [10] |
1900–1909
Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates |
Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
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Tomb of Dean Vaughan | North choir-aisle of Llandaff Cathedral | 1900 | Tomb with sculpture | Marble | [11] | |||
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Arthur Sullivan | Victoria Embankment Gardens, London | 1902 | Bust and figure on pedestal | Bronze & granite | Grade II | Q27081637 | [12] | |
Wigan and District Boer War memorial | Mesnes Park, Wigan | 1903 | Sculpture on plinth | Stone with bronze additions | Removed after repeated vandalism.[13] | ||||
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James Reid (1823–1894) | Springburn Park, Glasgow | 1903 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and granite | Category B | Q17811051 | [14] | |
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Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein | Thames Street, Windsor, Berkshire | 1903 | Statue and surround | Bronze and Portland stone | Grade II | Q26411185 | [15] | |
Coldstream Guards | Vestibule of south nave, St Paul's Cathedral, London | 1904 | Relief sculptures | Gilt, bronze & stone | 1.5m x 0.9m | [16] | |||
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RAMC Memorial, Aldershot | Gun Hill, Aldershot | 1905 | Sculpture group, obelisk and wall with plaques | Bronze & granite | Grade II | Q26672950 | Architect, Robert Weir Schultz[17][18] | |
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Alfred W. Hughes Memorial | Corris, Gwynedd | 1905 | Celtic cross on pedestal with a bronze plaque | Granite | Grade II | Q2949920 | [19][20] | |
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King's Liverpool Regiment memorial | St John's Gardens, Liverpool | 1905 | Statues with base & wall | Bronze & stone | Grade II | Q26333154 | AB Burton (foundary); William Kirkpatrick Ltd (builders)[21][22] | |
Journalists of the South African War memorial | Crypt of St. Faith, St Paul's Cathedral, London | 1905 | Plaque | Marble & bronze | [23] | ||||
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John Cory | Gorsedd Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff | 1906 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze & stone | Grade II | Q29491668 | [24] | |
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Judge Gwilym Williams of Miskin (1839–1906) | Opposite Crown Court, Cathays Park, Cardiff | 1906 | Statue on plinth | Bronze & stone | Grade II | Q29491700 | [25][26] | |
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Memorial to 2nd Battn Royal Sussex Regiment, 1882 to 1902 | Grand Parade, Eastbourne | 1906 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze statue, stone pedestal | Grade II* | Q17555428 | AB Burton (foundary)[27][28] | |
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John Viriamu Jones | Entrance hall of the Main Building of Cardiff University, in Cathays Park | 1906 | Statue on pedestal | Marble | ||||
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William Edward Hartpole Lecky | Trinity College, Dublin | 1906 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | Q82094233 | |||
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Godfrey Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar | Gorsedd Gardens, Cathays Park, Cardiff | 1909 | Equestrian statue on pedestal with reliefs | Bronze & stone | Grade II | Q29491649 | [29] |
1910–1919
Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates |
Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
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The Boy Scout | National Museum Cardiff | 1910 | Statuette | Bronze | Portrait of Basil Webb, son of Henry Webb, and who served as a 2nd lieutenant with the Welsh Guards during the First World War and was killed in December 1917.[30] | |||
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Charles Rolls | Agincourt Square, Monmouth | 1911 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze & granite | Grade II* | Q7604480 | [31] | |
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Memorial to the Engine Room Heroes of the Titanic | Pier Head, Liverpool | 1916 | Obelisk with statues | Bronze & stone | Grade II* | Q3305518 | [32][33] | |
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Edward VII | Pier Head, Liverpool | 1916 | Equestrian statue on pedestal | Bronze | Grade II | Q26320984 | [34][3] | |
Lieutenant Colonel A. Carteret-Thynne DSO | Parish Church of St. James the Great, Kilkhampton, Cornwall | 1917 | Tablet with figure & plaque | Marble & bronze | Carteret-Thynne was killed in action in 1917, having also served in the South African War.[35] | ||||
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Equestrian statue of the Viscount Wolseley | Horse Guards Parade, London | 1917 | Equestrian statue on pedestal | Bronze & Portland stone | Grade II | Q18159880 | [3][36] | |
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Lord Ninian Crichton-Stuart | Cathays Park, Cardiff | 1917 | Statue on plinth | Bronze & stone | Grade II | Q29491669 | [37] | |
Capt H B Knott and Major J L Knott DSO | St Andrew's Church, Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland | 1918 | Tablet with relief figures | Marble | 1.2m by 1.5m | [38] |
1920–1929
Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates |
Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
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Lampeter War Memorial | Bryn Square, Lampeter | 1921 | Statue on pedestal and raised terrace | Bronze statue, granite pedestal | 4.5m high | Grade II | Q29489055 | Terrace & wall designed by Llewllyn Bankes-Price[39][40] |
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Port Sunlight War Memorial | Port Sunlight Merseyside | 1921 | Celtic Cross on an octagonal podium with eleven sculptured figures and twelve relief panels. | Bronze and granite | 11.5m high | Grade I | Q15979246 | AB Burton (foundary); William Kirkpatrick Ltd (builders)[41][42][43] |
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David Lloyd George | Castle Square, Caernarfon | 1921 | Statue on plinth | Bronze & stone | Grade II | Q29483625 | AB Burton (foundary); Base by J Fletcher of Caernarfon.[44] | |
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Statue of Sir John Tomlinson Brunner | Grounds of Brunner-Mond works, Winnington, Cheshire | 1922 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and granite | Grade II | Q15979536 | [45][46] | |
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Thomas Charles Edwards | Old College, Aberystwyth | 1922 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze & granite | Grade II | Q29488944 | AB Burton (foundary)[47][48] | |
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Llanelli war memorial | People's Park, Llanelli | 1923 | Relief panel and cenotaph | Bronze sculpture & granite cenotaph | Grade II | Q29490305 | [49][50] | |
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The Northumberland Fusiliers Memorial "The Response" | Barras Bridge, Newcastle upon Tyne | 1923 | Bronze relief figures on a granite base with three granite figures on the reverse | Bronze and granite | Grade I | Q17552582 | AB Burton (foundary); William Kirkpatrick Ltd (builders)[51][52] | |
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Penarth war memorial | Alexandra Gardens, Penarth | 1924 | Obelisk-mounted sculpture on stepped plinth | Bronze and granite | Grade II | Q29491428 | [53][54] | |
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Royal Welch Fusiliers memorial | Junction of Bodhfryd Rd. & Chester Rd., Wrexham | 1924 | Twin sculptures on pedestal | Bronze and stone | [55] | |||
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Carmarthen County war memorial | Priory Street, Carmarthen | 1924 | Statue on pedestal and plinth | Bronze and Portland stone | 4.5m high | [56] | ||
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Llandaff Cathedral School war memorial | Cathedral Green, Llandaff, Cardiff | 1924 | 3 Sculptures on pedestals | Bronze and stone | Grade II | Q29491677 | [57][58] | |
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James Rice Buckley | Cathedral Green, Llandaff | 1927 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze & granite | Grade II | Q29491672 | [59] | |
Basil Webb | Crypt of Lady Chapel, Hereford Cathedral | Reredos with figures of 3 saints | Basil Webb was the son of Henry Webb who funded the memorial.[60] |
1930–1939
Image | Title / subject | Location and coordinates |
Date | Type | Material | Dimensions | Designation | Wikidata | Notes |
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Evan James & James James | Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd | 1930 | 2 statues on plinths | Bronze | Grade II* | Q17743403 | [61][62][63] | |
Harry Seymour Berry, Baron Buckland of Bwlch | Outside Central Library, Merthyr Tydfil | 1931 | Statue on pedestal | Bronze and stone | Grade II | [64] | |||
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George V | Entrance to Queensway Tunnel, Liverpool | 1939 | Statue | Bronze | ||||
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Queen Mary | Entrance to Queensway Tunnel, Liverpool | 1939 | Statue | Bronze |
Other works
John's output also included:
![](../I/m/EB1911_Plate_IV._v24%2C_pg.505%2C_Fig_10.jpg)
- Statue of Saint John the Baptist.[65]
- Sculptures on Electra House in Moorgate, City of London, these dating from 1900 to 1903 and representing Egypt, Japan, India and China.[66]
- The work Grief dating to 1890.[67]
- Queen Alexandra. Statue on the facade of the Victoria and Albert Museum.[68]
- Carved figures on a reredos in St John the Baptist Church, St John Street, Cardiff.[69]
- Designed the regalia for the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon in 1911.[3]
- Designed the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935.[3]
- Merlin and Arthur (c. 1896) in the collection of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Accession number: NMW A 127. This bronze was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1902.[70] The museum also holds many other works by Goscombe John.[71][3]
- Memorial Relief to the late Canon Guy D.D, (1897) in Llandaff Cathedral.[72]
Goscombe John's output was prolific and also includes the statue of King Edward VII at Cape Town and the equestrian statue of the Earl of Minto at Calcutta. Goscombe John also executed the monument to the Marquis of Salisbury, in Westminster Abbey[3] and Hatfield Church.
References
- Introduction to "Sir William Goscombe John, R.A., LL.D. Sculpture in the National Museum of Wales Catalogue" dated 1948
- "The Welsh Cartoonist: An Interesting Chat With Mr. Staniforth". The Weekly Mail. papuraunewyddcymru.llgc.org.uk. 19 December 1906. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
- David Buckman (2006). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 1, A to L. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0 953260 95 X.
- University of Glasgow History of Art / HATII (2011). "Sir William Goscombe John RA". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain & Ireland 1851–1951. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- "John, Sir William Goscombe (1860–1952), sculptor and medallist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
- Oliver Fairclough (10 December 2011). "William Goscombe John (1860–1952)". Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- Historic England. "Tomb of Marthe Goscombe John and Sir William Goscombe John in Hampstead Cemetery (1322159)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue of Daniel Owen (365)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "Daniel Owen". Hither & Dither. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- "The Elf by Sir William Goscombe John". www.victorianweb.org. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- "Tomb of Dean Vaughan". Victorian Web. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Historic England. "Sir Arthur Sullivan Memorial (1238072)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register, Wigan and District – South African War – Original (Lost)". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Historic Environment Scotland. "Springburn Park, Staue of James Reid (Category B) (LB33297)". Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- Historic England. "Prince Christian Victor of Schleswig-Holstein Monument (1117677)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Coldstream Guards – Boer War". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register, Royal Army Medical Corps – South African War". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Historic England. "Royal Army Medical Corps Boer War Memorial (1393807)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Hughes Memorial (22742)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- "Welsh History Month: Corris Roadside Memorial". Wales Online. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register, King's Liverpool Regiment Boer War". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Historic England. "Monument to the King's Liverpool Regiment (1073470)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Journalists – South African War". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue of John Cory (13692)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue of Gwilym Williams of Miskin (13735)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "Judge Gwilym Williams". Victorian Web. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- "War Memorials Register, 2nd Battn Royal Sussex Regiment, 1882 to 1902". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Historic England. "Bronze statue of Royal Sussex Regiment ... (1043677)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue of Godfrey, First Viscount Tredegar (13665)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- "The Boy Scout". Victorian Web. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- Cadw. "Charles Rolls, Monmouth (2229)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register, Engine Room Heroes (Titanic Memorial)". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Historic England. "Memorial to Heroes of the Marine Engine Room (1209973)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Historic England. "Monument of Edward VII (1068224)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Lieutenant Colonel A Carteret-Thynne". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Historic England. "Statue of Field Marshal Viscount Wolseley (1357125)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue of Lord Ninian Edward Crichton-Stuart (13693)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Capt HB Knott and Maj JL Knott DSO – Tablet". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Cadw. "War Memorial and surrounding terrace and walls (10425)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register, Lampeter". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Port Sunlight and Lever Brothers Ltd Employees". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Historic England. "Port Sunlight War Memorial (1343491)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Catherine Jones (31 October 2014). "Port Sunlight war memorial grant Grade I listed status". liverpoolecho.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue of David Lloyd George (3843)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Edward Morris & Emma Roberts (2012). Public Sculpture of Cheshire and Merseyside (excluding Liverpool). Public Sculpture of Britain. 15. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. ISBN 978-1-84631-492-6.
- Historic England. "Statue of Sir John Brunner in front of Research Lab., Winnington Works (1161131)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue of Thomas Edwards (10311)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- "Statue of Thomas Charles Edwards". Hither & Dither. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- Cadw. "Great War Memorial in gardens of the Town Hall (11964)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register, Llanelli". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: The Response 1914". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Historic England. "War Memorial (The Response) (1186201)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Penarth". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Cenotaph (13340)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Royal Welch Fusiliers". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register, Carmarthenshire". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Llandaff and Llandaff Cathedral School". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Llandaff War Memorial (13703)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue of James Rice Buckley (13698)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
- "War Memorials Register: Basil Webb". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Cadw. "Evan and James James Memorial (24841)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- "Evan James and James James Statues". Hither & Dither. Retrieved 20 November 2012.
- "Anthem writers' memorial". historypoints.org. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- Cadw. "Statue and Plinth yo Harry Seymour Berry (11443)". National Historic Assets of Wales. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
- Encyclopædia Britannica, ed. 1911, vol. 24, pg. 505, Plate IV.
- Sculptures on Electra House Victorian Web. Retrieved 20 November 2012
- Grief Victorian Web. Retrieved 19 November 2012
- Queen Alexandra Victorian Web. Retrieved 20 November 2012
- Reredos in St John the Baptist Church Victorian Web. Retrieved 20 November 2012
- Merlin and Arthur Victorian Web. Retrieved 19 November 2012
- Some works held by the National Museum of Wales National Museum of Wales. Retrieved 19 November 2012
- Memorial Relief to the late Canon Guy D.D Victorian Web. Retrieved 19 November 2012
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. Missing or empty
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