This large and heavy set of bookends was made by the National Metalizing Company of NYC, which later was known as the Armor Bronze Company. The title of these bookends is "Silence." Each piece is 8 in. tall X 4 in. wide X 5 1/4; in deep, the artist's name is inscribed into one side of the piece and the copyright date 1914, on the other. The National Metalizing Company of NYC was apparently established in the 1890's. The company adopted the name Armor Bronze as their trade name, and remained in NYC until the mid-1930s. In 1934, they moved to Taunton, MA. This set pre-dates Armor's shield logo found on pieces made after the company started using its trade name. Salvatore Morani was born in Calabria Italy. He studied sculpture for 8 years at he the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples and for 6 years at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He immigrated to the United States in 1905. In the U.S. his work has been exhibited in the National Academy in Washington D.C, and the National Academy of Design in NY. He died in New York City in 1964.