Louis F. Ragot, Bronze Sculptor, Medallist, Aviator, Author, and Inventor

What initially got my attention with this Louis Ragot bronze was the portrait of a wild haired hermit, which put me to mind of our own George Ohr, (1857 to 1918) the Mad Potter of Biloxi who was a temporal contemporary of Ragot.  Ohr’s wild hair and mustache is iconic here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and we have had our share of hermits and flamboyant artists.  Another Gulf Coast personality that comes to my mind is Walter Anderson  (Shearwater Pottery), whose extended sojourns on the Gulf islands painting and drawing was rather hermit-like.

Louis F. Ragot is best known today for his bronze plaques, sundials, and his medals, but there is a lot more to him than his art.  There is not much biographical information available about Ragot, but I did find that he was born in Paris and exhibited at the Salon of 1882 of the Académie des Beau-Arts, Paris.  He “exhibited a very beautiful Portrait-medallion of a Child” there.^[1]   I understand that Louis Ragot was part of the famous Ragot line of French sculptors, painters and bronze workers whose works have graced France for many years.  Louis Ragot was the pupil of Louis Auguste Hiolin, a French bronze sculptor who lived from 1846 to 1910.  Ragot had two sons, Henri^[2] and Charles, ^[3] but I have no information about his wife at this time. 

The Ragot family emigrated from France in 1894 to the United State and set up shop in the resort town of Milford in Pike County, Pennsylvania, in what was then known as Hermitage Glen.  He possibly also had an inn (or bed and breakfast as we call them now) on the property called The Hermitage.  Certainly he set up his studio there and worked at least part of the year in Milford.  His property had a number of buildings with sculptures of the Hermit on buildings and trees, as well as a grotesque downspout for a spring there at the Hermitage.  I don’t know if any of these things still survive, but the two Hermitage postcards I have used to illustrate this article show some of Ragot’s work at Hermitage Glen.   

I understand that Ragot also had a residence on Long Island (NYC), on Lexington Avenue, although I haven’t found the years of his occupation there.  He wasn’t inactive in the New York area, as Ragot was supposed to have designed and cast a number of decorations and embellishments for a Harlem church.  Although the year of this work is unknown, but probably around the time of the Harlem real estate building boom 1899-1905 and certainly before the Panic of 1907, which destroyed the real estate market in Harlem.  He made bronze fittings and light fixtures for the church there.  Alas, I don’t have the name of the church, the demonination or even  know if it’s still standing.  Hopefully some reader will send in the information.

 Hermitage Glen takes its name from the colorful story of Amos Wilson (born 1774), known as the Pennsylvania Hermit who took to a cave and lived in isolation for 19 sorrowful years, dying in 1831, and from the later popular book about Wilson, The Pennsylvania Hermit, published 1839 about the remorseful hermit.  Hermitage Glen was apparently a popular location and was mentioned as a beautiful stop near Milford, PA in the Jan 1912 edition of the Automobile Blue Book, Vol 3, pg 69, which was an early automobile tourist guide “… Milford, with many nearby beauties of nature, among which are the Saw Kill Cascade, Raymondskill Falls, Vandermart Creek and Hermitage Glen.”

 

Louis Ragot and his son Charles, were inventors and they patented a new design rotary internal combustion engine (patent 1302709, May 6, 1919, see image) as well as an early airplane (see image), which he and his sons Henri and Charles built around the end of 1910 in Milford and exhibited in NYC.^{[4] [5] [6]}

With that introduction as to the versatility and genius of Louis Ragot, I have featured here a gold washed bronze plaque of the Pennsylvania Hermit that I acquired a few years back.  I was intrigued by the wild-haired man, but also the fine casting of the work.  I was completely unfamiliar with the art of Louis Ragot and so I began doing research and this article is the product of inquiry. 

 This Hermit bronze is 5 ¾ inches across at the widest point and 5 ¼ inches tall.  It is a cast in the shape of a scallop shell with the wild-haired hermit on the obverse with “Hermitage” and a presentation text on the rim, “Mr Mme H. Juventy. 17  Fev = 1906 Milford P.A.”  On the reverse, which has a shell-like texture, is the rim inscription, “Copyright 1903 by L. Ragot”.  The weight of the piece is 263 grams and the plaque is pierced for hanging.  I have not been able to discover the identity of Mr & Mme Juventy and why they would rate a custom-made presentation plaque with their names and the date of visit. 

Interestingly, scallop shells^[7] have a long history as the badge of a pilgrim who had been to the Holy Land.  I’m sure this point wasn’t missed by Ragot since the area featured resorts and tourists traveled through the area, on pilgrimage so to speak, for a number of years.  Milford was quite small, but featured a good number of different post cards for tourists to buy and mail.  Some of which I show in this article. 

I have seen only one other bronze Ragot Hermit Plaque for sale and it was substantially the same as this one, but varied with the text and it did not have a hole for hanging.  On that example, there was no gold wash present, although it may never have had a gold washed finish.  The pictured hermit in this example has below it, “The Hermitage’s Hermit,” making clear that this is a portrait of the hermit and not Ragot himself.  The rim has text also, “L. F. Ragot, Sculptor Milford, P.A.  Clearly, these Hermit plaques were limited edition and some had dedicatory text.  These Hermit plaques are large and double-sided, a typical Ragot touch that appears in his medallist works as well.

 Among other surviving Ragot art works are a number of large bronze cast sundials with various finishes, ranging from 12 to 16 inches square, which appear at auction occasionally.  Many of them have classical motifs and figures although one is a commemoration of Halley’s Comet in 1910.   His sundials were not only works of art, they were fully functional.  They were custom made and some even had the latitude and longitude engraved.  That would mean that the gnomen was individually calibrated to correctly tell time when the sundial was installed in its proper place.  I have also heard of a bronze turtle made by Ragot, but I have yet to have turned up a photo or full description.  This is an ongoing investigation and hopefully folks will comment and give us more information to add to this article.  See also footnote ^[8]  and the Other Works section below.

Louis Ragot is a well-known medallist among numismatic collecting circles, see below for Other Works by Ragot.  His medals and plaques are among some of the best produced in the US in the first quarter of the 20^th century and are avidly sought  by advanced medal collectors.  See Other Works below. 

I had to cobble together this bio from a variety of sources, many of which are fragmentary, some are substantiated and few well documented.  There are still a lot of holes.  I have tried to filter the sources, weigh the evidence and put together a coherent article despite these limitations.  If there is a verifiable error or omission, I hope people will post a response here and add to the limited information available about the diverse talents of Louis Ragot.  At this time I don’t even have a birth or death date for Louis Ragot but his art is not forgotten.  I really need a photo of Louis Ragot for this article.  I am sure time will only add to our store of knowledge and this will be an on-going biography. 

Other Works by Ragot

Ragot designed several classically inspired bronze sundials, as well as a Haley’s Comet sundial [0] many of which still come up for auction from time to time.  He continued to produce medals, including a tribute to Russian author Tolstoi, an official inaugural medal of President Woodrow Wilson from 1917.  He also produced WWI medals such as his General Pershing medal, “Lafayette we are here,” commemorating the arrival of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) in Europe.  The name Louis Ragot is quite well known primarily in the metallic collectors circles, but not as well know as a sculptor outside of medals, plaques, and sundials.   

Ragot also wrote a booklet.  According to the 1909 Catalogue of Copyright Entries: Pamphlets, leaflets contributions … Volume 6, Books, Group II, Ragot wrote a book called Hermit’s Book in 1909 and it was 23 pages with illustrations:  A 239973, May 21. 1900: 2 c June 1 1909.  But I don’t know if the book was about himself, Hermitage Glen, the hermit Amos Wilson or all of the above.  Hopefully somebody will bring this pamphlet to light.

I found this entry in 1918 Catalog of Copyright Entries: “Musical compositions, Part 4, Volume 13:  Ragot (Louis F.) Milford Pa. [9257  They Shall Not Pass.  Sculptured figure of France silhouetted against Rock of Gibraltar, with French fighting cock forming her helmet, fighting off German eagle C 1 c. Oct 4, 1918; g 56840”.   This was perhaps an illustration for sheet music made from a photo of one of his works, which would explain its inclusion in the music section.

Exonunia Auction June 22, 2013 Baltimore   Catalogue auction 83:  “Lot 141.   Stunning Wilson – Liberty plaque by Louis Ragot, 1919.  7 ¼ bronze.  Louis F. Ragot, Sc. Extremely fine with a suspension hole above Wilson’s head.  On the reverse a light dent on the nose and some scuffing disturbs the otherwise dark patina.  Obverse with Woodrow Wilson founder of the League of Peace  around a profile bust of Wilson to the left.  Signed on the truncation, “Jan 25, 1919 Louis F. Ragot.”  The reverse portrays a spiked head of Liberty superimposed over a world globe.  A raised band around is inscribed:  Justice Peace Liberty 1919”.

 

FOOTNOTES (because I talk too much and run out of room)

[1]  From Biographical Dictionary of Medallists   Coin Gem and Seal Engravers Mint Masters with References to their Works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900 by L. Forrer (pub 1912 Spink & Son Ltd, London),   Vol V,  P 19  “Ragot, Louis (French).  Contemporary Sculptor, born at Paris:  pupil of Hiolin.  At the Salon of 1882 he exhibited a very beautiful Portrait-medallion of a Child.”   

[2] Henri Ragot helped to build a model of the aeroplane and did photographic studies of birds in order to help design the craft.  Louis and Henri Ragot later built a pusher canard monoplane, which was based on a George D. White design, the White Canard Monoplane.

[3] Charles Ragot was born in 1888, died 1973 and buried in the Milford Cemetery.  Charles L. Ragot went on to be a mathematician. He and his brother-in-law wrote,  A Graphic Table Combining Logarithms And Anti-Logarithms, Adrien Lacroix & Charles L Ragot, 1 Sep 25.  Ragot was later a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, NJ.  Charles’ brother-in-law was Adrien Lacroix (1888-1961) who was also a mathematician and helped with the design of the airplane.  They also formed the Ragot Motor Corporation.  http://www.google.com/patents/US1475509   and    http://www.mocavo.com/Index-of-Patents-Issued-From-the-United-States-Patent-Office-1923-Volume-1923/898200/448

[4] Pike County Press (Milford, Pennsylvania), Friday, July 29, 1910, Page 1. ... ‘The Ragot boys are building an aeroplane at the Hermitage) which they expect ..  “  

http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/46233869/

[5] Henri & Louis Ragot, Adrien Lacroix, New York NY. 1911 = 1pOhwM; pusher engine; Louis Ragot. Canard design with framework fuselage, based on the White design.  See 1910 Ragot Canard Monoplane http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_%28pre-1914%29  and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_%28R%29#Ragot  (Henri & Louis Ragot, Adrien Lacroix, New York, NY)  Charles L. Ragot went on to become a mathematician with Lacroix.

[6] The New York Times article Dec 28, 1910:  BOY BUILDS AEROPLANE FROM BIRD MODELS; Boy of 17 Uses Snapshots of Them on the Wing to Work Out a New Principle.  “There is a new aeroplane at the Garden City Aviation Field, built on a principle representing what aeroplane constructors have hitherto sought to avoid, and manned by a crew that has never yet been in the air. It made its first appearance on the field yesterday morning, and the few veteran aviators who are making Winter quarters at Garden City, saw several things in it to marvel at”.

http://www.modelflight.regheath.com/earlybirds/1911frameset.htm

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9504E3D91F39E733A25755C2A9649D946196D6CF

[7] The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 says, “One species (Vola Jacobaeus) occurs on the coast of Palestine [now Israel], and its shell was formerly worn by pilgrims as a mark that they had been to the Holy Land.

[8]  http://issuu.com/freemansauction/docs/1477   page 52, 548A  Four bronze sundials  Louis F. Ragot, sculptor, Milford PA  1910-1920   The first of Square form with gladiator riding in horse drawn chariot in front of radiant sun; the second and third, of circular form with signs of the zodiac, one titled “Know Thyself” and the other with phrase “Ye are born under a good star if ye know ye self” and the forth, of rectangular form entitled “Halley’s Comment Sundial” with shooting star gnomon, all signed by the artist  16 ½ X 16 ½  in

LINKS OF INTEREST ON RAGOT, MILFORD AND THE HERMIT

A copy of the book, The Pennsylvania Hermit, pub  1839

https://archive.org/details/pennsylvaniaherm00phil

Amos Wilson, The Hermit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_%22Amos%22_Wilson

wiki Indian Echo Caves  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Echo_Caverns

http://articles.philly.com/1995-06-25/news/25691091_1_chester-county-seat-twins-indian-echo-caverns

Just Because I Can:  Michael W. Moses Pottery, another Gulf Coast Potter

http://mwmosespottery.blogspot.com/