Lawn jockey
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A lawn jockey, also commonly known as a "Yardell" is a small statue of a man in jockey clothes, intended to be placed in yards. Most today are white jockeys, but historically African-American jockeys were commonplace. A popular lawn ornament in years past, in certain parts of the US, was a cast replica, usually about half-scale, of a black man dressed in jockey's clothing and holding up one hand as though taking the reins of a horse. The hand sometimes carries a lantern. The African-American lawn jockeys often had exaggerated features, such as big eyes with the whites painted in, large red lips, large, flat nose and curly hair. These pieces of were typically carefully painted in gaudy colours for the uniform and the flesh of the statue a uniform gloss black. These statutes are considered by many to be highly offensive and racially insensitive.
It is said that the 'lawn jockey' actually has its roots in the tale of one Jocko Graves, an African-American boy who served with General George Washington at the time that he crossed the Delaware to carry out his surprise attack on British forces at Trenton, NJ. The General thought him too young to take along on such a dangerous attack, so left him on the Pennsylvania side to tend to the horses and to keep a light on the bank for their return. So the story goes, the boy, faithful to his post and his orders, froze to death on the river bank during the night, the lantern still in his hand. The General was so much moved by the boy's devotion to his duty that he had a statue sculpted and cast of him, holding the lantern, and had it installed at his Mount Vernon estate. No records, however, exist to support any of this story, and it is likely revisionist folklore. There is a collectibles market for these items.
There are typically two traditional lawn jockey styles that are produced, commonly known as "jocko" and "cavalier spirit". Typically these statues are made of concrete but are also made of other materials such as Poly Resin and aluminum or cast iron.
