USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > Biographical and genealogical history of the city of Newark and Essex County, New Jersey, V. 1 > Part 7
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"The pedestal is square and is about six feet high, its base being of Numidian and the shaft of Sienna marble, both specimens having been carefully selected for the pur- pose. On one side of the shaft, set in the marble, is a large bronze plaque represent- ing, in bas relief, Penelope busy at her loom.
"On the other side a bronze plaque of the same size depicts the return of Ulysses from his wanderings after the fall of Troy, as related in the Odyssey, the second of the two great poems attributed to Homer. Within a fortnight the gift will be trans- ferred to the university.
"The story it tells is this: Penelope, the daughter of Icarus, the brother of Tyn- darus, King of Sparta, was an accomplished Princess of great beauty. She had many
suitors, and her father promised her as a prize to the one who should win in a foot race.
"Ulysses, being a competitor, outran the others, and his marriage to Penelope was celebrated about the same time as was that of Menelaus to Helen, the most beautiful woman in Greece, and the cause of the Tro- jan war.
"Ulysses, with Penelope, returned to reign over Ithaca. There their son Tele- machus was born, and for several years their mutual happiness was supreme. In the meantime Paris, the son of Piram, King of Troy, with Æneas, were guests at the Court of Menelaus, then King of Sparta.
"Taking advantage of a temporary ab- sence of Menelaus in Crete, Paris eloped with Helen to Troy. Menelaus, upon dis- covering his treachery, declared war against the Trojans, and in consequence of an oath, which bound the chieftains throughout Greece to aid one another, all, including Ulysses, were obliged to embark with Menelaus for the plains of Ilium, to lay siege to the city of Troy, as described in the Iliad of Homer and the ÆEneid of Vir- gil
"In the ten years' war that followed, Ulysses was distinguished not only for his prowess as a warrior, but also for his elo- quence, sagacity and inexhaustible re- sources under difficulties. Learning that Troy could not be taken while the Palla- dium, a wooden image of Minerva, re- mained in the city, he, by stratagem, got possession of it, and managed subsequently to be carried within the walls of Troy con- cealed, with others, in the belly of a wooden horse. Emerging from this when the Tro- jans were off guard, he effected the total destruction of their city.
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"The war was now over. Paris had been slain and Helen restored to Menelaus. Ulysses, accordingly, eagerly set sail for Ithaca. His vessel, however, no sooner left the shores of Ilium than a series of new dangers and trials encountered him, and another ten years passed before he arrived in disguise on his palace grounds, unrec- ognized by all, save by his faithful hound, whose exuberant joy Ulysses, in the bronze plaque on the pedestal, is represented as suppressing by holding his jaws tightly closed.
"Here he learned from a faithful servant and from Telemachus that during his twen- ty-years' absence Penelope, still beautiful, faithful and loving, had anxiously waited for his coming, and had kept at bay her many suitors, who argued his death, by telling them she would entertain no offers of marriage until she had finished weaving a certain robe, the threads of which she was careful to remove each night after her day's labor.
"This artifice having been made known to the suitors by one of her maids, she con- sented to bestow her hand on that one who on the following day should from Ulysses' bow shoot an arrow through the eyes of several axe heads placed in a row.
"Retaining his disguise, Ulysses, at the time of the trial, waited until all had failed, and then, readily shooting the arrow through the axe eyes, he, with some re- maining arrows, slew the suitors and made himself known to his devoted and delighted Penelope, thereafter the historical and classical ideal of a devoted, faithful, pru- dent and sagacious wife.
"The bust and its pedestal will probably be located in Alumni Hall, inasmuch as the heroic bust of the Parthenon Minerva,
given by Dr. Coles, as executor of the es- tate of his father, the late Dr. Abraham Coles, graces the entrance hall of the Low Memorial Library.
"This beautiful marble bust of Minerva was executed at Athens, Greece, by the Greek artist, Droses, and is believed to be a correct copy of the one by Phidias that stood in the Parthenon on the Acropolis.
"It was made for and attracted much at- tention at the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia in 1876, and was afterwards purchased by Messrs. Tiffany & Co. for the estate of the late Dr. Abraham Coles, who was an art connoisseur of exquisite taste, but was more widely known to the literary world as the one of whom Whittier said :- 'No man, living or dead, has so rendered the text and spirit of the old and wonder- ful Latin hymns.' His translation of the Hebrew Psalms is also considered by schol- ars in Europe and America as the best.
"Since the death of Dr. Abraham Coles, in 1891, his son, Dr. J. Ackerman Coles, as executor of his estate, has given many val- uable works of art to institutions of learn- ing in New Jersey, and elsewhere. The literary writings of Abraham Coles are . found in nearly every public library in Eu- rope.
"In 1848 he did surgical duty in Paris, France, during the revolution of that year, and in 1854 he was called as consulting physician and surgeon in England and on the Continent."
To the College of Physicians and Sur- geons, New York, Dr. J. A. Coles, as ex- ecutor, has given two valuable bronzes cast in Paris at the foundry of Barbedienne. One is a copy of "The Dying Gaul" or gladiator found in the garden of Sallust,
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which, with its right arm restored by Michael Angelo, is now in the Museum of the Capitol, in Rome. The other is a copy of the bust of ÆEsculapius in the Museum of the Louvre in Paris. Both appropriate- ly and elegantly mounted by Tiffany & Co. have places in the trustees' parlor in the college. By reason of its grace and realis- tic anatomical accuracy, "The Dying Gaul" has always been regarded as the master- piece of the Pergamenian school in sculp- ture, forming as it did with its companon piece, "The Fighting Gaul," the chief adornments of the triumphal monument erected in the second century, B C., to the memory of Attalus II. in Pergamos, Asia Minor, then at the zenith of its glory as a center of art, wealth and influence.
"To Princeton University," says the (N. Y.) Examiner, "Dr. Coles and his sister have given, with its marble pedestal, the magnificent life-size marble statue of 'Ny- dia,' made of the best Cararra marble, by Randolph Rogers, in Rome, Italy, in 1856. Several copies of it were subsequently made. One was at the Centennial Exposi- tion, and another in A. T. Stewart's collec- tion. The one given to Princeton is the original. It has been carefully preserved and its value enhanced by the lapse of time." To this idealization of the blind girl of Pompeii is attributed the foundation of Rogers' fame as an artist and sculptor, se- curing for him the commission to design (1858) the bronze doors for the capitol at Washington, D. C., and to finish the Wash- ington monument at Richmond, Virginia (1861).
"The original statue of Nydia," says the American Register, Paris, France, "was given to Princeton University in apprecia- tion of the mutual regard which for more
than fifty years existed between the trus- tees, faculty and instructors of the College of New Jersey and the late Abraham Coles, A. M., M. D., Ph. D., LL. D."
From the president of the university the donors received the following acknowl- edgment :
Princeton, N. J., August 3, 1896. Miss Emilie S. Coles and Dr. J. Ackerman Coles, Deerhurst, Scotch Plains, N. J.
My Dear Friends:
At the meeting of the board of trustees of the Col- lege of New Jersey, held during commencement week, in June last, I had the pleasure of reporting to them that I had received, in behalf of the college, from you, the beautiful marble statue of Nydia, which you so kindly presented to the college out of the estate of your father, the late Dr. Abraham Coles.
The gift was very gratefully received by the trustees, and I was requested, in their behalf, to write to you expressing the very cordial thanks of the trustees for the beautiful statue which now adorns the Museum of Historic Art.
I have great pleasure in discharging the duty as- signed to me by the trustees. Nydia will always be associated in our minds with the memory of your gifted father, and I venture to hope that the common interest which you and we have in this masterpiece of the sculptor's art will constitute a strong bond be- tween you and Princeton University.
I trust that we may have the pleasure of seeing you at Princeton sometimes, and I beg to assure you that whenever you will honor us with a visit you will find a most cordial welcome in our home from Mrs. Patton and myself.
I am, very sincerely, FRANCIS S. PATTON.
The Chicago Evening Post says,- "Princeton has a new and novel mascot. It was given to the college at the sesqui- centennial celebration. It is an American tiger or jaguar, known . for its great strength and fighting qualities. The spec- imen is an especially large one, being the one P. T. Barnum had in his museum in New York. After his death it was stuffed, and figured in the procession celebrating the laying of the Atlantic cable. It also appeared at the Old Guards' ball in New York and at other festivities in that city. It has been handsomely fitted up by the person who gave it, and is now in the bio- logical laboratory, from which it will be removed when other quarters are provided
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for it. The donor is Dr. J. Ackerman Coles, of Newark, N. J."
Prof. William Libbey, secretary of the committee on reception and entertainment, sesquicentennial exercises, College of New Jersey, wrote to Dr. Coles, October 16, 1896:
"We will be very glad to accept the his- toric tiger, and use it upon the occasion of the torch-light procession. I telegraphed you in order that there might be no delay in getting the animal packed up, so as to reach us in time. Permit me, on the part of the college, to thank you most cordially for this indication of your interest.
"Yours very truly, "WILLIAM LIBBEY, Secretary."
The tiger was carefully cased and sent under special guard to Professor Libbey. Extra precaution was deemed necessary to prevent its going to some other college. It took part in the procession, which was a brilliant success.
From Ainsworth Rand Spofford, LL. D., the Librarian of Congress, Dr. J. A. Coles has received the following letter :
Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:
I have your much esteemed favor, proffering, as a gift to the congressional library, a life-size bronze bust, to be preserved in the new library building, in memory of your father. This generous offer is fully appre- ciated, and will be communicated to the joint commit- tee of both houses of congress on the library when organized. Meanwhile I am authorized to receive the gift to be assigned an honorable and appropriate place in the new building of the library of congress, now completed.
Permit me to express my high sense of the literary value of Dr. Abraham Coles' fine translations of Latin mediæval hymns and other works.
Very respectfully,
A. R. SPOFFORD, Librarian of Congress.
J. Ackerman Coles, M. D. Newark, N. J.
The University of Chicago was made the recipient of the bronze mentioned in the following correspondence.
To the president, William Rainey Har-
per, Ph. D., D. D., LL. D .; Dr. Coles wrote :
"Belonging to the estate of the late Abraham Coles, A. M., M. D., Ph. D., LL. D., my father, is a bust of Homer, of the best quality of bronze. It is of heroic size, and was cast for Messrs. Tiffany & Co., of New York city, at the celebrated foundry of Barbedienne, Paris, France. This, with its imported marble pedestal, I, as executor of my father's estate, my sister, Emilie S. Coles, cordially concurring, now offer as a gift to the University of Chicago, and upon notification that the same will be accept- able to its board of trustees, I will send them thither by express, with all charges prepaid.
"I have just re-read in the magazine en- titled 'The Old Testament Student with New Testament Supplement,' edited by yourself, your kind critical review of the 'New Rendering of the Hebrew Psalms in- to English Verse.' by Abraham Coles, a work which, I learn, has found its way into the university libraries of Oxford and Cam- bridge, England, and also into some of those on the continent of Europe, eliciting an endorsement of the criticisms uttered by yourself, while professor of the Semitic languages and Biblical literature at Yale University."
President Harper's reply is as follows :
"I wish to assure you of the appreciation of the university of the courtesy and kind- ness of yourself and sister in presenting to the university the bronze bust of Homer, with its marble pedestal. I cannot think of any gift which we would appreciate more, and I am very much pleased, indeed, that we may thus perpetuate the memory of your father in connection with the uni- versity. The boxes containing them may
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be addressed directly to me, in care of the university, and I will make the proper pre- sentation to the trustees, and they will then acknowledge the gift officially. I am very much disappointed that I did not have the pleasure of meeting you at the Princeton sesquicentennial."
The New York Tribune, in speaking of Harvard University, says :
"Dr. J. Ackerman Coles. of Newark, whose gifts of valuable art objects to edu- cational and public bodies have been gen- erous, and who lately gave to the Chicago University a heroic bronze bust of Homer, has just presented to Harvard University a life-size bronze bust of Socrates. The bronze is part of the estate of the late Dr. Abraham Coles, of Newark, a well known classical scholar and author. It was made by Barbedienne, in France, for Tiffany & Co. The donor, in giving the bronze to Harvard, said that he desired it to be a re- minder of the friendly relations that ex- isted between his father and the officers, professors and graduates of Harvard, espe- cially President Thomas Hill, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes and Phil- lips Brooks."
"In acknowledging the gift, President Eliot writes as follows :
J. Ackerman Coles:
Dear Sir,-Your letter is just received. I hasten to say that the gift of a bronze bust of Socrates, with its marble pedestal, will be very welcome to Harvard University.
I am obliged to you for saying that this valuable gift, made by yourself and your sister, is intended as a reminder of the friendly relations which existed for many years between your father and the distinguished men-officers and graduates of Harvard-whose names you record. Your letter will he deposited in the ar- chives of the university. Believe me, with high re- gard, sincerely yours,
CHARLES W. ELIOT.
From North East Harbor, Maine, under date of July 6, 1897, President Charles W. Eliot writes to Dr. Coles :
My Dear Sir:
I desire to report to you that the admirable bust of Socrates, which you and your sister presented to the university, has been placed in the library of the classical department, in an advantageous position, and that it is universally regarded as a great ornament to the room. The admirable manner in which the bust is mounted adds greatly to the value of the gift. The library of the classical department is kept in Harvard Hall, in the rooms in the first story immediately on the right as you enter the first door. Whenever you come to Cambridge, I beg that you will visit this libra- ry and observe the appropriateness of this place of de- posit for your excellent gift.
Very truly yours, CHARLES W. ELIOT.
J. Ackerman Coles, M. D.
Following is a copy of the correspond- ence relating to the estate's gift to Yale:
Rev. Timothy Dwight, D. D., LL. D., President of Yale University.
Dear Sir,-I have read with much interest of the safe arrival at your university of the "Curtius Library," its careful packing having been personally superintend- ed by Frau Curtius herself, who was particular to have it reach you in its entirety. I have read of its three thousand five hundred bound volumes and many pamphlets,-one hundred and fifteen being on Greek epigraphy, forty-five on Olympia, and seventy-five on Greek lyric poetry,-all classified and arranged for con- venient use,-a library, in fact, covering the whole field of Greek philology and archaeology, made especially valuable from the fact that, had not Professor Curtius been tutor to the Emperor Frederick, the German ex- cavations (1875-1881) might never have been made, and Olympia be still left a buried city.
To the estate of Abraham Coles, A. M., M. D., Ph. D., LL. D., my father, belongs a beautiful life-size bronze bust, a copy of the Hermes of Praxiteles, found in the Temple of Hera, within the Altis, the sacred precinct of the Olympian Zeus. Of the same size as the orig- inal, this copy, cast for, and imported by, Tiffany & Co., of New York, my sister and I will be pleased to give to Yale University, deeming it a suitable addition to the invaluable "Curtius Library."
I remember with satisfaction and pleasure the rela- tionship, scholarly and social, that existed for many years between the faculty, instructors and graduates of Yale and my father. As for myself, a graduate of Columbia and the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, some of my warmest friends are those of Yale.
Upon receipt of word that the proffered gift will be acceptable, I will send it, with its imported marble pedestal, to the university, by express, all charges pre- paid. Awaiting your reply, I have the honor to be, with great respect,
Yours sincerely, J. ACKERMAN COLES.
Under date of February 3d, President Dwight made answer :
Dear Sir,-In answer to your very kind letter of yes- terday, I heg to express my most sincere thanks for the generous offer which it contains. On behalf of the university I accept the gift, which will be most ap- propriately connected with the Curtius Library, and will be most pleasantly commemorative of your hon- ored father. The life and work of Professor Curtius
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were worthy of all honor on the part of all scholarly men, and it is very interesting to us at Yale University to know that his wife was pleased to have his library -in such striking manner a monument perpetuating his name-placed here in this distant land. She added to the library a gift of the portrait of her husband, and thus testified most kindly of her good will to us. The addition which you now make, and which is suggestive of Curtius' work and influence in connection with the excavations to which you refer, will be a new testi- mony to what he did. I am sure that Mrs. Curtius will be glad to know of your generous gift.
If you will kindly, at your convenience, send the bust to our library, as you suggest, we will be glad to give it a conspicuous place.
May I ask you to present to your sister, who unites with you in the gift, the assurances of my very high regard, and to request her to accept the expression of my thanks to you in this letter as, also, intended for herself. Very sincerely yours,
TIMOTHY DWIGHT.
On receipt of this acceptance, the bronze and its pedestal were packed and sent, un- der the direction of Messrs. Tiffany & Co., to the university, and, Dr. Coles received the following acknowledgment :
My Dear Sir,-I have the pleasure of announcing to you, that the bronze bust and its pedestal, forwarded at your request, by the Tiffany firm, have arrived, and have been placed in a conspicuous position in our university library. The bust is very beautiful, and I beg you to accept, for your sister and yourself, my sincere thanks, for myself, and on behalf of the trus- tees of the university, for your most interesting and valuable gift.
The portrait of Professor Curtius has been placed very near the bust, and these two memorials, in con- nection with the library, will be a testimony, to all who come to Yale, of scholarship and of generosity. Believe me, very truly yours,
TIMOTHY DWIGHT.
June 27, 1897, Henry W. Farnam, Esq., of New Haven, Connecticut, writes to Dr. Coles :
Dear Sir,-As a member of our library committee, I desire to express to you my personal appreciation of your generosity in presenting to Yale the beautiful bronze copy of the Hermes, which now stands directly beneath the portrait of Professor Curtius.
I was attending the lectures of Professor Curtius, in Berlin, in 1876, when the Hermes was unearthed, and saw the first photograph that was sent out to the German directors of the excavations. I also knew Professor Curtius and his family personally. It was, therefore, especially gratifying to me that the acquisi- tion of his library by Yale should have led you to com- plete the collection by sending us the Hermes.
Permit me to express my very warm thanks for your kindness and liberality, and believe me,
Yours most sincerely, HENRY W. FARNAM. J. A. Coles, M. D., Newark, N. J.
A special despatch to the New York Tribune, from New Brunswick, New Jer-
sey, reads: "President Austin Scott, of Rutgers College, announced to the stu- dents this morning that J. Ackerman Coles, of Newark, had presented to the col- lege a life-size bronze bust of George Washington, in memory of the late Dr. Abraham Coles. The bust is a replica of the famous marble statue executed from life, by Jean Antoine Houdon, for the state of Virginia, and now standing in the state capitol at Richmond. The bust is pre- sented in commemoration of the support given, during the Revolution, to General Washington, by Rutgers College and the people of New Brunswick, and of the cen- tennial meeting of the New Jersey Medical Society, held in the halls of Rutgers Col- lege, in 1866, at which time Dr. Abraham Coles was its president, and read his poem, 'The Microcosm.' The bust was cast in France, and was mounted by Tiffany.
"On motion of Dr. Jacob Cooper, and seconded by Dr. Van Dyke, the gratitude of the college was ordered expressed to Dr. Coles."
The president wrote to Dr. Coles:
My Dear Sir,-The board of trustees, at their recent meeting, requested me to convey to you the expression of their warmest thanks to yourself and your sister for your gift of the bronze bust of Washington. For the present it has been placed in the college chapel.
I am, faithfully yours,
AUSTIN SCOTT.
To the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America, for its use in connec- tion with the Theological Seminary of said church, located in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Dr. and Miss Coles have given a unique and beautiful work of sacred his- toric art, in memory of their grandfather, Jonathan C. Ackerman, as well as that of their father. It consists of a life-size mar- ble group, representing Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness of Beersheba. It is the
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masterpiece of Alessandro F. Cavazza, who executed the same in the purest Cararra marble, in Modena, Italy, in 1872. "Ish- mael," says the New York Christian Intelli- gencer, "in his utter weakness, has loos- ened his hold upon Hagar's neck, and has fallen back apparently lifeless across her left knee. The relaxed muscles of the lad, his death-like countenance, the agonized look of his mother, and the many other minute details of finished expression, show the artist to have been in full sympathy with his subject, and to have possessed the skill and knowledge (anatomical and eccle- siastical) requisite for its accurate por- trayal."
President Woodbridge was authorized to accept the gift and to assure the donors, on behalf of the board of superintendents and the faculty, that the gift would be highly appreciated. Later there was received by Dr. Coles and his sister the following :
"General Synod, Reformed Church in
America,
"Raritan, N. J., June 11, 1897.
"I have been directed by the General Synod to forward to you a copy of the fol- lowing action, taken at its recent session held at Asbury Park, New Jersev. Re- solved, That the General Synod of the Re- formed Church in America, hereby assures Dr. J. Ackerman Coles, and Miss Emilie S. Coles, that the gift of the statuary, repre- senting Hagar and Ishmael, is fully appre- ciated, and that the thanks of the Synod is hereby tendered to the generous donors.
Respectfully yours,
WILLIAM H. De HART, Stated Clerk."
The Lewisburg (Pennsylvania) Chron- icle refers to a recent gift, in the following language: "Bucknell (Lewisburg) Uni- versity has received a very valuable gift in
the shape of a life-size bust of Julius Caesar, a bronze copy of the one in the Louvre, in Paris, France. It is mounted on an Ital- ian-marble pedestal, and has been placed on exhibition in the college library. No other copy like it is believed to be in Amer- ica. It is the gift of Dr. J. A. Coles and his sister, in memory of their father, the late Abraham Coles, M. D., Ph. D., LL. D., an honorary alumnus of the univer- sity."
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