Designer: Walter Von Nessen (1889 – 1943)

Item: Cathedral Bookends

Manufactured by: Chase Copper and Brass Company

Country of origin: United States

Year made: 1932

Materials: Brass and copper

Dimensions: Each is 5 ¼” x 5” x 2 ½”

Condition: Very good. Not polished or cleaned with original warm patina from age and spots where original lacquer has worn off.

References: Buck, Robert T., The Machine Age In America 1918 – 1941, The Brooklyn Museum Abrams (1986); Linz, Jim, Art Deco Chrome, Schiffer (1999).

Description: Von Nessen’s Cathedral bookends are, along with his Hoops and his Arches bookends one of the more iconic Art Deco and American Machine Age designs ever produced. They are also an architecturally referenced design clearly influenced by the art deco skyscrapers being built at that time. These are signed with the Chase logo the outer edge of the hoop. They are heavy with the pair weighing over 3 pounds.