Dear John,
Have you always lived in the hills of Berkeley?
I came from an auction of personal property of the Rutherford, California estate of William Hewitt. Mr. Hewitt had been the CEO and Chairman of the Board of the John Deere Company. (He was also the Ambassador to Jamaica under President Ronald Regan)
Dear John,
Did you walk all the way from Rutherford to Berkeley?
Jane Alexiadis purchased me in the late 1990s and I stayed hidden in the backyard of our Berkeley bungalow. In 2004 we moved 4 blocks to another Berkeley home – and the garden had a perfect spot for a statue of a life sized cast iron buck.
Jane decorates me with lights and a bow for Christmas: I am always a hit in the neighborhood. Thus began a custom of celebrating holidays, events and Red Sox Victories with costumes.
Being curious, Jane prowled through old foundry catalogs to see if she could locate any more history. Turns out, I was featured in the 1867 catalog of the Wood & Perot Iron Foundry of Philadelphia. No price list was available..
Wood & Perot & Co. Ornamental iron works. 1136 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia. 57 Camp Street, New Orleans. Manufacturers of iron railings for cemetery enclosures, public squares, churches and private residences, iron verandahs, balconies, bank counters, stairs (in every variety), mausoleums or tombs, chairs, settees, tables, tree boxes, hitching posts, lamp posts, brackets, statuary and all other iron work of a decorative character. Drawings furnished to those who wish to make selections.