Antique Barbary pirate corsair bookends Armor Bronze clad, orig paint, BIG

Description

Since the Crusades, pirates, known as Barbary corsairs operating out of North Africa, had plundered European ships, prompting those Western countries to pay tribute as an easier, less costly way to appease them.  But Thomas Jefferson, in 1804, said no more and dispatched the new US Navy to deal with the situation.  Which it did thanks to Stephen Decatur and the US Marines.  And the "shores of Tripoli" became part of the "Marine's Hymn."
Here is a fierce Barbary corsair posing with pistol in sash and curved Mameluke cutlass.  Designed and signed by Pasquale Beneduce.
Bronze-clad, a manufacturing process by which a skin of bronze was deposited on a plaster form through electro-plating.  A handful of companies used this method in the early 1900s to make decorative household objects that had the look, feel, and heft of solid bronze yet were affordable by the middle class.
One of those companies was Armor Bronze, operating in NYC at least as early as the 19-teens.  No maker's mark (there would have been foil labels on the bottoms) but there is at least one other pirate bookend designed by Benduce and it was made by Armor.  Ca. 1920's.
Condition is good BUT:  seems the pirate on the left got dropped sometime in his career, causing a break in the cladding where the tip of the sword meets the base and wrinkles in the cladding in both his shins (see last 2 pics), resulting in his leaning forward a bit.  That means when his back is placed against a book there is about an 1/8th of an inch gap.  Because he is tall and heavy, it doesn't affect his ability to hold up that book; also, you really can't see it unless you're looking.  But, it is there.
The other pirate just has a bumped corner (also pictured).
Otherwise, condition is great.  Paint is original, has faded some with time.
These are big:  9 1/2 inches tall; base is 4 1/2 inches X 2 1/2 inches.  They weigh about 3 pounds EACH.
Perfect gift for the collector of tribute in your family.
US shipping only.  USPS priority.  I pack with care.