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New Bedford May 5th 1878 Mr A. H. Dooley My Dear Sir Your favor of the second inst. came to hand yesterday. I'm replying to your inquiries I will endeavor to give you some idea of the bust I have made of Thoreau and the circumstances by which I was influenced. I had the acquaintance of Mr T for some eight years during which time he made
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visits at our house and I also visited him at his home in Concord. He was not so much my guest at New Bedford as my Fathers but kindred tastes and a high appreciation of his character and genius caused me to look up to him as one of the most remarkable men of our time. Some years after his death I became interested in sculpture and after making some
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successful portraits both in medallion and full bust felt very desirous of attempting a bust of our friend. In doing this my first wish was to if possible express the noblest traits of his character, his strong individuality intellect and perhaps most of all and which impressed me most his transcendent philosophy. In trying to gain these points I omitted as much as possible
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minor details and strove to make a head indicative of a noble deep thinking original man. Whether I succeeded is not for me to say as under the circumstances I can only judge for myself. Mr. F. B. Sanborn of Concord saw it a few years ago but looking for a likeness of Thoreau the Poet I fear was not satisfied. Most people get their idea of him from Rowse's crayon portrait where to me is not like the man I knew
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too much of the indoor student delicate and sensitive, not suggestive of a man inured to storms, and the friend alike of the wood chopper and the woodchuck. The only really reliable likeness I had to help me in my work was an ambrotype taken here about a year before he died, a most admirable picture, representing him with a full beard which he wore during his latter years and by which his
