Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1900-08-22
IT IS BARRE GRANITE.

The following is an article that re-
Gently appeared in the Westerly R
~ Sun relating to block of gradle
recently sent to Westerly from Barre
One of the most beautiful pieces of
sculpture ever in Westerly is now
nearing completion at the studio of
Il. c. King & SoD./ The rough stone
when takiag>ffom the car was a block
of granite weighing 40 tons and 100
pounds. The studio on High street,
where Mr., King has done his work in
the past, was inadequate to the de-
mands, and a new building was erect
ed around the stone after it was
taken from the car near the Sweeney
Granite works. This structure is Is
by Is feet, with height of about %
feet, and has it's windows SO arranged
that the most available light is thrown
upon the stone.
Work upon the granite block was
begun Jan. LIST, but clay models Of the
work had been made some time pre-
vious. Since the beginning of the
year Mr.. King and his son and one as
sistant have devoted their entire time
to bringing out in the stone the intri-
cate lines of the model, and under IA
vorable conditions it is expected that
the statue will receive its finishing
touches in about a month, when it
will be shipped on a specially made
car to Memphis Tenn, where it will
be erected to the memory of the late
DR.. D. r. Porter of that city.
In attempting to describe this
beautiful memorial the fact presents
itself that no description can give
one an adequate conception of the
skilled workmanship which has been
devoted to it for so many months.
The design is block Of rough gran
lite II feet 6 inches high, s feet s in
cheS wide at the base, and 6 feet 6
inches thick. AS you stand in front
of the stone, on your left in niche of
the rock, some three feet from the
bottom of the base, stands a siX-fOOt
life size portrait statue of DR.. Porter,
his left hand resting upon five vol
umes, representing the five orders of
architecture, and his right hand upon
a cane at his side The doctor is
standing in a life like attitude, as
though about to address a meeting.
He wears Prince Albert coat and
even the seams in the back and across
the sholders are accurately cut in the
statue. But it is the features which
especially draw the attention, because
of their absolute fidelity to the photo
graph from which they were modelled.
At the right is broken column a
foot or more in diameter, entwined
with ivy and running roses. Flowers
are also grouped around the base, and
we find the ivy for friendship, the
fern for fidelity, dock for patience,
the lily for purity and beauty of
character, and piuks for holiness
In the center of the stone, between
the statue and the broken column, is
large open book in full relief. Up
on the pages will be cut, on polished
surface, the emblems of the Masonic
order, upon one page the emblems of
the 32nd degree, and upon the other
the emblems of the Knights Temp
lar. Upon the end of the broken col
umn will be cut cmblems of the l. O.
O. +.
The ability to leave the face of the
rock without any evidence of tool
marks has won admiration from eX-
pertS who have examined >the work.
The lettering under the statue, "Dr.
d. II. Porter" is cut in rounded
raised letters, and the background
has the appearance of rough hntinish-
ed work. The value of lhe monu-
ment as t stands in Mr.. Kings studio
is about 5000.