Antique

Boy Scout Statue

"IDEAL BOY SCOUT"

R. Tait McKenzie

Highly Collectible

11 Inches High

Pat. 1916

In 1914 at the request of Dr. Charles D. Hart, President of the then Philadelphia Council, Boy Scouts of America, Dr. R. Tait McKenzie. created a statuette of the Ideal Boy Scout. His model, selected in a competition of Scout parades, was 12 year old Asa Franklin Williamson Hooven. Ten bronze 18 inch-high statuettes were cast and subscribed at $100.00 each, by the friends of Scouting. The edition was closed and Dr. McKenzie presented the copyright to the Philadelphia Council.

Plaster, bronze, and epoxy reproductions were sold, beginning in 1916. Later smaller copies, suitable for desk ornaments, were made available and are now highly popular. In 1930 when then Philadelphia Council moved from 916 Walnut Street to its 22nd& Winter Streets location, it was hoped Dr. McKenzie would create a life-size statue to stand before the new building. He obliged, not by reproducing the small figure but with a restudied one with many changes, incorporating the new Scouting insignia.