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Pinkerton Strikebreaker- 19th century great dane

Pinkerton Strikebreaker- 19th century great dane

Description

A pinkerton security dog. This sculpture was originally done for a show in Pittsburg, thus the signs under his feet refer to the famous Homestead steelmill strike. The Pinkertons clashed with the union and were roundly beaten by the strikers. The union was eventually defeated by time, as they simply couldn't afford to strike forever.

The Pinkerton detective agency was all too often used to break up strikes in the 1800s, giving them a somewhat unsavory reputation. While hammers weren't the Pinkerton's weapons of choice, conflicts with striking workers often meant the Pinkertons got attacked with whatever was handy, including the occasional hammer. So here its meant to imply he's just taken the weapon away from someone, after they'd used it. (check out the lovely blood smear)

researching what the Pinkerton's wore was actually rather difficult. Photographs of actual pinkerton employees are scarce, and what few there are, they're often only partially in 'uniform' since they've been working. Descriptions seem equally scarce since it seems only some of the employees got any sort of uniform. What I could find referred to them wearing long coats with silver buttons inscribed with the Pinkerton logo the "eye that never sleeps". The Pinkerton logo is where the term "private eye" for detective comes from. Yes, each of his buttons does have thelogo on it! There were some other vague reference to cavalry boots and dark pants being standard. In general, it seems like they got some badges, filled in the rest of their uniform with their own clothes.

Pinkerton is also the name of a Great Dane in a series of children's books by Steven Kellogg, thus my choice for animals in this sculpt. The Dane here has a different pattern than the one from the children's series, though they are both harlequins. (Harlequin being the term for this black and white ink splatter coat color)

ApoxieSculpt. Painted in acrylic. He stands 12" tall.

Shipping is by Priority Mail (2-5 days) or International First Class (1-2 weeks). I ship within 1 day of receiving payment. All items over $10 are shipped with tracking and insurance.

YES, I can ship to APO/IPO addresses.

Added on Aug 18, 2009