This "Flying Dutchman"(I know.. how could I NOT buy it)was an advertising display (solid copper) that would have been found in a Moline Plow Co. dealership. I would estimate it to have been made around 1890 +/-. Originally, he had wings and held an ear of corn in his raised arm.
This statue for reasons nobody knows was stashed under a stairway in the church years ago. It had been sitting outside the back door for the last few years.
Here's an old print ad with a better image of what he looked like originally.
When I finish painting the tool room I think he'll look good on a shelf in there.
