Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-08-31

uAoAAASonA, IL Jou DlcdSc.
"And, after all, we lose our hearts and
keep our commandments, my dear JUL
cite! What will Cousin Essie saw when
she hears that Miss Lowell and I have
been destined for each other from the
beginning?'
THE STORY OF THE DOLLAR.
Where Mr.. Morgan Found His Model-A
Type Of American Beauty.
A Philadelphia dispatch printed in the
Times of Tuesday morning stated that
the head of the female on the Bland sill
yer dollar was portrait of Miss Williams,
OF that city. Some other facts about the
coin are given by the Philadelphia Rec
ord: ,s. -&
I'm the early part of 1876 the treasury
department opened communication with
the royal mint of England for the pur-
pose Of procuring the services Of an ex-
pert designer and engraver, whom it was
desired should come to this country and
take position in the Philadelphia mint.
AS result Of these negotiations, clever
young man named Morgan was sent over
here. He engaged accommodations with
very estimablc lady, Mrs. Eckfelt,
on Mount Vernon street, above Six
tenth. He ANNOUNCED his business
as being employed by the treasury de-
partment, and stated that he was engaged
to make design for new dollar, and
Immediately proceeded to turn his apart
ment into workshop. At the same time
Mr.. Morgan was engaged in his labors to
produce something which would startle
the country. Mr.. Barber, the chief design
CT at the mint here, was hard at work up
on the same subject. For weeks and
months Mr.. Morgan toiled on, failing to
produce design which was satisfactory
to himself. His attention at first was
given to the reverse side, and eagles in
various attitudes appeared, but at last he
designed a copy Of the great American
bird which pleased him. This was not
the one which appears on the coin now,
but was larger, and the wings were long
er. An afterthought occurred when the
wings were clipped, the bird reduced in
size, and the one which holds position
on the reverse side of the dollar of the
dad lies was adopted as the proper design.
''While engaged in his labors, Mr.. Nor
gan visited the Acadamy Of Fine Arts fcr
the purpose of frightening up his ideas
by studying American art. He was &C.
quainted with the English and the Con-
tinental schools, but, as his work was to
be Americanized, he desired to make it
thoroughly so. He made the acquain-
lance of Mr.. Thomas Eak1ns, an artist of
no little reputation, and this soon ripen-
ed into warm friendship. Their inter-
ests being identical, to Mr.. Eakins was
communicated many of the thoughts Of
the forei gn artist regarding the work he
had on hand. Mr.. Morgan desired to
present as the principal figure on the
coin a representative head Of the Ameri-
can female beauty. His first inclination
was to make a fanciful head of a Goddess
Of Liberty Or something Of the sort
which would be pleasing in Its appear
ance, and yet have no real significance
Two designs of this sort were made but
did not come up to the expectations
of the great artist. Then it was
determined that the head should be the
representation of some living American
girl, who should sit while the artist
sketched her features. But where to pro-
cure such lady was question which
bothered Mr.. Morgan. He examined the
countenances of the, young women who
make it their business to pose as models
for artists of the academy, and among
the large namber he could find none who
suited his purposes. He went to the
Woman's School Of Design, bnt in all the
sketchings and casts there examined he
could find nothing which accorded with
his views. Then the services of his new
found friend, Mr.. Eakins, were called in,
and that gentleman induced you lady
friend Of the family to sit as the model
for Mr.. Morgan. This lady Is the one
whose face is now stamped on the coin of
the country.
''The posings took place at the resi-
dence of Mr.. Eakins, on Mount Vernon
street, below Eighteenth, where the lady
was initiated into the difficulties and
mysteries of art. 1t was question for a
long time as to just what form the head
and its ornaments should consist of. Large
caps were made to represent the Goddess
of Liberty, and all sorts of things. The
position was rather trying to young
lady who had never sat before. The de-
signer is represented as having said that
the profile OF the miss was 'sthe most per-
feet he had ever seen, in England or IN
this country" After four or five sittings
tracings sufficient to proceed with the
work had been secured, and Mr.. Morgan
dismissed his model. After this the de-
signer took his various sketches, and from
them wrought out the head, which is the
prominent figure on the front Of the dol
lar of the daddies.
"The person who is the subject of this
sketch, and whose features form the
groundwork for the design on the coin,
is very estimable and modest young
lady. Her name is Miss Anna W. VIII
iams, and she resides with her mother
and aunt at No. 1923 Spring Garden
street, in this city, where the family has
lived for a number of years. It did not
occur to her at the time Of the sittings
that she would become historically "a
nous, and had such a thought ever
crossed her mind, the designer Of the dol
lar would have been compelled to seek
elsewhere for a subject. Miss Williams
is blonde and of very fair complexion.
By many she is regarded as pretty. She
is slightly below the average height, and
Of good figure. It would be impossible
to recognize her by the head as it appears
on the dollar, because there are numerous
artistic changes, made to suit the eye of
the designer. This is particularly the
case with the full-rounded chin, which is
said by those who know to resemble that
of the wife Of Mr.. Morgan. The Grecian
nose and the delicate lips are those of
Miss Williams. and this characteristic 10