Getting the sitter right
February 16 2016
Picture: Telegraph
Stockton council in the UK has admitted that a bust of one its most famous residents, the inventor of the friction match, John Walker, in fact shows the wrong man. A bust of the wrong John Walker was installed in 1977 (above) with great ceremony, but the mistake has only been admitted now. From the Telegraph:
The bust of John Walker has stood in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, since 1977 - but it was revealed at a recent council meeting that it is not the legendary inventor.
It is thought the bust is based on engravings of a well-known actor, also called John Walker, who lived from 1732 to 1807 and never even visited Stockton.
The mistake came to light when a councillor pointed out that the statue is "hidden away" in a corner of the town's Castlegate Shopping Centre.
Councillor Lynn Hall was surprised to find out why the Walker statue wasn't given more prominence.
It turned out the council discovered some time ago that although the statue bore a striking similarity to the match inventor, they had made a blunder.
More here.
