Plaster Bust of Lord Byron

Bust of Lord ByronGeorge Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, known as Lord Byron, was a British Romantic movement poet in the early 1800s. The town of Byron, Maine is named after him and was incorporated in 1833, nine years after his death. This bust dates to the Blaine family’s occupation of the house. MSM Unnumbered

Plaster Statue of Blaine

Blaine StatueThis plaster statuette from the late 1800s may represent a proposal for a statue of James G. Blaine, one that was not carried out.

MSM Unnumbered

Bust of James G. Blaine

Bust of James G BlaineFranklin Simmons

1878-1880

Maine-born sculptor Franklin Simmons was one of the country’s best-known sculptors when he carved this marble bust of James G. Blaine. Blaine commissioned it during his term as U.S. Senator. Simmons may have traveled to Maine when Blaine sat for the bust in 1878. According to a news article at the time, Simmons carved the bust in Rome, Italy, completing it in 1880. He reportedly pronounced it “the most perfect piece of workmanship” he ever modeled.

MSM79.40.38

Plaster Statue of Minerva

MinervaMinerva was the Roman goddess of wisdom. Plaster statuettes were popular items of décor in the late 1800s. Minerva has occupied her niche since the Blaine family lived in the house. The statuette was converted to an electric lamp when the Blaine House was remodeled in 1919-1920.

MSM 79.40.175

Glass Bust of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln BustBlaine respected Lincoln greatly. According to family tradition, Blaine bought this bust at the 1876 Centennial Exposition, and kept it on his desk the rest of his life. When Blaine’s daughter, Harriet Blaine Beale gave the house to the State, she distributed many of the household items to friends and family. She gave this to her cousin, Mary Owen Stinson Weston, who passed it on to her daughter. A benefactor bought it and gave it to First Lady Karen Baldacci, as a gift for the Blaine House.

MSM 2010.49.1

THE BLAINE HOUSE
Home of Maine's Governors since 1919.
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