American Antique Weather Vanes

Weather vanes were used by the ancient Greeks a hundred years before the birth of Christ; by early Scandinavians on their ships; and were common throughout England since William the Conqueror, and throughout Europe since the French Revolution. American vanes were recorded since the seventeenth century — among the first known is the copper cockerel, made in 1656 for the Dutch Reformed Church at Albany. The weather vane found a welcome home in the expanding America of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was a jaunty bit of decoration that served an important utilitarian function and enlivened the whole landscape with its humorous and homespun motifs, bold and vigorous design, and spirited air of American individualism and independence. By the late nineteenth century weather vane design and manufacture had reached full maturity. There were several firms throughout the United States specializing in weather vanes, some of which issued catalogs displaying their wares. Among the largest and most important of these companies was A. B. & W. T. Westervelt of New York City, whose extensive illustrated 1883 catalog, featuring over 550 copper weather vanes and finials, is herein reprinted. This excellent primary source by one of the principal manufacturers of American weather vanes offers an extraordinarily wide range of styles and motifs, including: horse with sulky and driver, cow or bull, gun and cap, goddess of liberty, dog, ram or sheep, Indian chief, hook and ladder with number, oxen, ocean steamer, Roman banneret and scroll, rooster, cannon, fish, pen, locomotive and tender, initials, lion, liberty cap and arrows, malter's shovel and brew barrel, and many more. Vanes are illustrated with line engravings, are especially well suited to reproduction (all royalty-free), and are accompanied by relevant information on size, materials, and original prices. Indispensable for the architect, antique collector, and historian, this collection of authentic weather vane designs will also prove to be an unusually rich source of royalty-free art and graphic inspiration for the artist, designer, and crafter.

American Weathervanes: The Art of the Winds, published to coincide with an exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum, reveals the beauty, historical significance, and technical virtuosity of American vanes fashioned between the late seventeenth and early twentieth centuries. This American art form has long been an enduring part of the country's skylines. Early church steeples were graced with weathercocks, following a European tradition that dates to the MiddleAges. America's first documented vane maker, metalsmith Shem Drowne of Boston, crafted a number of surviving vanes, including the iconic golden grasshopper that has topped the city's Faneuil Hall since 1742. Farmers, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen proudly fashioned roosters, cows, horses, and other forms for country barns, and as the tradition and public demand expanded over the course of the nineteenth century, so did the diversity of forms, which grew to fill the mail order catalogs of commercial manufacturers in Boston, New York, and other cities. Today, weathervanes hold a well-established place in the canon of American folk art and American Weathervanes celebrates this artistry in the most up-to-date and authoritative work on the subject. Lavishly illustrated with masterworks from prominent private and public collections, this is a book to be treasured by anyone who collects or simply admires American vernacular art and sculpture.

First used to gauge New England's ever-changing weather, now viewed as American folk art, historic weathervanes have been a part of the region's skyline for more than three centuries. Focusing on examples that can still be seen in public, this comprehensive study of the development of the weathervane describes changes in form and function from colonial times to the present, and also documents the histories of weathervane makers throughout New England.

From classic folk art styles to never-before-seen designs, weathervanes from many sources illustrate the distinctive vitality of this artistic form. 60 color plates bring many weathervanes to life visually, as they serve as both practical wind direction indicators and decorative architectural ornaments. Manufacturers are identified and their backgrounds are explored.