This offering is for an Original January 2, 1906 3-page ALs (AUTOGRAPH LETTER, signed) to Mr. Carlton Sprague of Buffalo, New York WRITTEN BY AMERICAN SCULPTOR JAMES EARLE FRASER at 3 McDougal Alley in NYC. The letter reads:
My dear Mr. Sprague, It pleases me very much to know that know that you like the (Augustus) Saint-Gaudens Portrait and that you agree about changing the inscription. As to the leaving out of letters in different words, I did it in order to make the line fit in the space I intended, meaning to change it if I used that arrangement infact? I left out three or four words near the end to make it come out even. You see in making a medal it is necessary to try dozens of ways of placing the inscription and after modeling two or three thousand letters one doesn't mind how many letters he leaves out.
Please give my kind regards to Mrs. Sprague and believe me,
Sincerely yours,
James Fraser Jan. 2, 06
The medal James Earle Fraser refers to in his January 2, 1906 letter to Carlton Sprague was commissioned by the Saint-Gaudens Memorial Committee in Buffalo, New York — a group formed immediately after Augustus Saint‑Gaudens’s death in 1907 to create a commemorative portrait medal and related tributes. Carlton Sprague himself was on that committee, which is why Fraser was writing directly to him about the inscription and design.
Letter Measures 4.5" x 7" folded
Per ChatGPT:
A highly significant letter from American sculptor James Earle Fraser (1876–1953) to Buffalo banker, arts patron, and civic leader Carlton Sprague (1836–1907), written at a moment when Fraser was actively engaged in designing the commemorative medal of Augustus Saint‑Gaudens — his mentor and the preeminent American sculptor of the age.
In the letter, Fraser responds to Sprague’s comments regarding the “Saint‑Gaudens portrait” and agrees that the inscription should be changed, indicating that the design was still in an iterative, collaborative stage. Fraser then discusses further aspects of the medal’s development, confirming that he was refining both the portrait and the textual elements of the piece.
The letter captures Fraser in the early, formative years of his independent career, shortly after the death of Saint‑Gaudens (1907) and during the period when Fraser was increasingly recognized as the natural artistic heir to his teacher’s medallic tradition. The Saint‑Gaudens medal — a commemorative portrait medal honoring the master — is one of Fraser’s most historically resonant early works.
Historical Context
By 1906, Fraser had already spent years working under Augustus Saint‑Gaudens, absorbing the Beaux‑Arts principles that would define his own sculptural language. After opening his own studio in 1902, Fraser became a sought‑after medalist, producing portrait medals, reliefs, and commemorative pieces for institutions and private patrons.
The Saint‑Gaudens medal occupies a special place in Fraser’s oeuvre: It was both a tribute to his mentor and a statement of Fraser’s own emerging identity as a major American sculptor; the medal was commissioned by admirers and institutions connected to Saint‑Gaudens, and Sprague — a prominent Buffalo patron — appears to have acted as an intermediary or advisor; the letter documents the collaborative refinement of the medal’s inscription, a key element in commemorative medallic design; surviving correspondence relating to the creation of this medal is scarce, making this letter an important primary source.
Provenance: From the papers of Carlton Sprague of Buffalo, New York, a superb and early artistic letter from the celebrated American sculptor James Earle Fraser, written during the formative period of his independent career, discussing his work on the commemorative medal of Augustus Saint‑Gaudens, his mentor and the leading sculptor of the American Renaissance. Fraser writes to Buffalo patron Carlton Sprague, agreeing that the inscription on the “Saint‑Gaudens portrait” should be changed and describing further refinements to the medal’s design.
Letters from Fraser’s early career are scarce, and those referencing major works — particularly Saint‑Gaudens — are of exceptional rarity and importance. A primary‑source document illuminating Fraser’s creative process and his role in shaping the posthumous image of Saint‑Gaudens.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no widely published image of a Fraser‑designed Saint‑Gaudens Memorial Medal from 1906–1907. However, there is strong evidence that such a medal was designed, discussed, and likely modeled, even if it never reached wide production. Your 1906 letter is therefore primary documentation of a medal that is either: Extremely rare, Unpublished, or Never struck beyond trial pieces.
The medal described in your letter is NOT the 1901 Pan‑American medal, which was completed in 1901. Was already awarded to Saint‑Gaudens, Is well‑documented and illustrated in multiple sources and Has no known redesign or reissue in 1906.
No museum, auction archive, or numismatic database shows a Fraser memorial medal dated 1906–1907
What This Likely Means based on your letter and the historical context, the most plausible scenario is:
Your letter may be one of the only surviving pieces of evidence of this unrealized project.
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