This plaque was the cenotaph for a monument marking the spot where Alexander Hamilton was mortally wounded in 1804 during a duel with Aaron Burr. The damaged monument was removed from the Weehawken, NJ site sometime around 1820.

In 1865, when Vinnie Ream was barely eighteen years old, Abraham Lincoln was told by Congressman James Rollins that there was a "poor girl" who wished to take his likeness; the president agreed, and during the last five months of his life, Miss Ream was frequently allowed to sketch him as he worked and received associates at the White House. The artist gave this bas-relief, which was one of the products of her studies, to Mrs. Sophie Washington Smith, an aunt of the donor.

This object was once part of the folk art collection of Elie Nadelman (1882-1946), the avant-garde sculptor. From 1924 to 1934, Nadelman's collection was displayed in his Museum of Folk Arts, located in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. The Historical Society purchased Nadelman's entire collection in 1937.

One of the most widely recognized landmarks in the world, the Statue of Liberty was a gift from France to the United States commemorating human liberty and friendship between the two nations. Liberty Enlightening the World, as the monumental statue was titled, was designed by French sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, an ardent patriot with a fascination for the colossal. Liberty's face bears the recognizable features of Bartholdi's mother, while the arms and torso were modeled after the sculptor's wife, Jeanne-Emilie. Liberty was intended for presentation to the United States on July 4, 1876 in honor of the nation's centennial, but sluggish fundraising slowed the statue's completion. The 30-foot raised arm and torch, constructed in time to be displayed at the International Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, generated great enthusiasm for the project. After the Centennial, the arm and torch were displayed in Madison Square for six years in order to raise money for the design and construction of the statue's massive concrete pedestal. In 1878, Bartholdi contracted with the Paris foundry Avoiron & Cie. to produce casts of Liberty in four sizes, including this three-foot reduction from Bartholdi's four-foot modèle d'étude. This particular model was retailed by New York City fancy goods importer Magnin, Guedin & Co., located on Union Square. The completed statue was finally unveiled in New York Harbor on October 28, 1886, a day of celebration for the more than 1 million people who lined New York's bunting-draped streets to watch a parade of more than 20,000 marchers. At the time of her dedication, the Statue of Liberty was the tallest structure in New York, reaching 305 feet, and today remains a potent symbol of both New York and the nation.

This imposing figure represents Harry Howard (1822-1896), the Chief Engineer of New York City's Volunteer Fire Department from 1857 to 1860. The statue originally stood on the roof of the building erected for the Harry Howard Hose Company at 115 Christopher Street around 1853. Upon the disbanding of the company in 1865, the statue was presented to the Neptune Engine Company No. 2 of Paterson, New Jersey, and later passed into the possession of the Protection Engine Company No. 5 and the Paterson Exempt Firemen's Assocation. It was acquired by folk art collector Elie Nadelman in 1936.

The sculpture was removed from the wooden Washington Triumphal Arch erected in 1889, 150 north of Washington Square on 5th Avenue to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the inauguration of George Washington as the 1st President of the United States.

Made by the donor and his brother, Dr. George Luke Havell from the original life mask made by Robert Havell, Jr. in London, c. 1830; Original mask in the collections of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138; CAP, 1974 cat # 61

Mahogany stand designed for the group, as illustrated in Rogers' catalogue of the period. Both the stand and the group came from John Rogers' home at 14 W. 12th St., NYC-later the church house of the First Presbyterian Church.

Among Rogers' last works, Football embodies the artist's lifelong quest to create sculpture that was affordable, of high artistic quality, and embraced subjects that resonated with American life. The young sport of football, derived from English rugby, became increasingly popular on college campuses such as Princeton and Harvard in the post-Civil War years. In 1875 the first intercollegiate games were played. The sport was further developed at Yale in 1879 by Walter Camp, a player and coach who is credited as the father of American football. In 1878 Rogers wrote to his sister Ellen that his young sons had a football match the following morning, observing, "Football seems to be the great game now." All five Rogers boys later attended Yale University after Camp's tenure there, and although they did not play football (they excelled at rowing), they were well aware of the university's close ties with the sport. It is said that three of Rogers' sons posed for the sculpture, along with William Herbert Corbin, captain of Yale's undefeated 1888 team and All-American center. Ever the adept marketer, Rogers released the group in time for the 1891 fall football season. Though the game was becoming widely known, Rogers still felt it necessary to explain the action: "The ball has been passed to the 'half-back' and he is trying to break through the opposing line, but has been tackled around the waist by a man whose hold he is trying to break by pushing his head down, and by another man who clings to his shoulders. As these two are likely to throw him down soon, he passes the ball back to a confederate, who will carry it farther towards the goal." In keeping with the early development of the game, the players do not wear pads, helmets, or protective equipment. As play grew more aggressive, serious injuries and even deaths began to occur, and in the early twentieth century regulations and protective equipment were introduced. Though the sculpture was criticized as an inaccurate representation of the new game, apparently it was sufficiently admired that John W. Boteler & Son of Washington, D.C., immediately offered it as a prize for the 1891-92 amateur club champions. It was also praised for Rogers' mastery of human anatomy. One writer declared, "He shows here an intimate knowledge of the human form. One can see the sturdy muscles of these young Titans standing out firmly beneath their rough clothing." The complicated interweaving of arms and legs suggests the influence of the famous Hellenistic sculpture Laocoön. Rogers was familiar with antique sculpture, and his compositions had been compared with the iconic work nearly two decades earlier: an article from 1873 referred to the Laocoön when praising Rogers' complex figural groupings.