Jervis McEntee Diaries

Wednesday August 21, 1889

Jervis McEntee Diary Entry, August 21, 1889, from the Jervis McEntee papers, 1850-1905, in the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution

Wednesday, Aug 21, 1889 Perhaps the warmest day of the season. I sent off my letter to Booth and the one to Calvert. Tom has finished cutting the grass and outlining the two streets and I feel now our venture is fully launched. I attended the adjourned Committee meeting for the selection of the soldiers monument at the Eagle hotel. Mr Carr a representative of Frederick and Field for whom we sent for consultation was there and after a long talk and again going over the plans we finally settled upon what was the second choice at our last meeting, a granite structure [?] mounted by a figure of Liberty 16 ft high and two projecting buttresses at the base with a bronze statue of a soldier on one side and a bronze sailor on the other. The soldier is on the picket line and represents the moment of an alarm. The sailor is to be modeled for us and we are to take neither of the figures unless they are satisfactory. There are to be some slight changes in the granite respecting two of the mouldings and the omission of a polished surface. The inscription is to be on bronze tablets. We did not get the figures I preferred but the photograph of the soldier seemed pretty good and is fully up to the taste of the community. The whole is to be set up for $8,000 and he is to furnish us a perspective drawing and a working drawing and minute specifications.

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