CONSULTANT SERVICES – CONSERVATION AND MAINTENANCE OF 16 MONUMENTS AND TABLETS (Maintenance Group 3)

The purpose of this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) is to obtain a qualified outdoor sculpture conservator to provide conservation, maintenance, cleaning, and rewaxing for sixteen (16) previously treated outdoor bronze and stone sculptural monuments and tablets. The contractor will coordinate treatment with the Maryland Military Monuments Commission (the "MMMC") based on the Scope of Services. All work will be performed in compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties and the Code of Ethics of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. All work is to be completed by no later than June 30, 2026.

The 16 monuments that are subject to this RFP are numbered and described in this section. All monuments were maintained in April or May of 2021. The marble of monument #s 5, 7 and 8 were treated with D/2 and Prosoco Hydroxylating Conversion Treatment in 2015. Maintenance of each of the 16 monuments consisted of washing with dilute solution of Orvus WA non-ionic detergent and water. In September of 2023, the non-original coatings and debris were removed from the bronze surfaces on Monuments #s 1, 3-6, 11-16 with CO2 blasting, all surfaces were cleaned and a coating of heat-applied wax consisting of 90% Reed Wax 6763 : 10% Reed Wax 6882, diluted 50% with VM&P Naphtha was applied with natural bristle brushes and allowed to cool.

1. M238 Harford County World War I Monument, MNG Armory, 37 North Main Street, Bel Air. Bronze tablet 2'- 2" wide and 3'-4" high on boulder 4' wide, l' deep and 6' high. Maintained in April 2021. The bronze plaque was stripped and rewaxed in September 2023.

2. M240 GAR Monument, Angel Hill Cemetery, 600 Ohio Street, Havre de Grace. Bronze tablet 18" wide and 24" high on granite monument 3'-8" square at the base and 11' high. Black staining at the granite edges remains after D/2 treatments. Maintained in May 2021.

3. M241 John O'Neill Monument, Concord Point Lighthouse, Concord St. at Lafayette St., Havre de Grace. Painted iron cannon mounted on granite stone with a bronze plaque set into the side of the stone. There is iron staining on the granite, most notably under the muzzle and around the trunnions. Maintained April 2021. The bronze was stripped and rewaxed in September 2023.

4. Ml72 North East Methodist Cemetery Gate Civil War Tablets, Thomas Avenue, North East. Two small bronze tablets. Mortar is missing from masonry posts. Repointing is not part of the scope. Water is available. Maintained April 2021. The bronze tablets were stripped and rewaxed in September 2023.

5. M169 World War I Doughboy Memorial, MNG Armory, 101 Railroad Avenue, Elkton. A marble screen-style monument 16' long, 6' deep, with an I I' high pedestal topped by a 5'-8" marble Doughboy sculpture. There are two small bronze plaques on the pedestal below the figure. The entire marble monument and figure were treated with D/2 and Prosoco Hydroxylating Conversion Treatment in 2015. The plaques were loose and reset in 2017 and the wax coating was maintained. Note: Doughboy figure has a sugaring surface with areas of loss under hat and recessed areas of face due to crusts in protected areas. The figure has a cementitious reconstructed nose and Dutchman repair bayonet scabbard. The Dutchman rifle tip has failed and has been removed. The mortar has failed in some of the joints on the marble platform. Two gray mortar patches on the rear of the screen are starting to fail. This contract will not include marble repointing, repair, or patching. Water is available. Maintained April 2021. The bronze plaques were stripped and rewaxed September 2023.

6. M165 World War I Monument, former Town Hall, 109 Bohemia Avenue, Chesapeake City. Bronze tablet 46" wide and 24" high on granite tablet monument 77" wide, 32" deep and 47" high. Water is available. Maintained in April 2021. The bronze tablet was stripped and rewaxed in September 2023.

7. Ml90 Hurlock WWI Doughboy Monument, Washington Cemetery, MD 331, Hurlock, Dorchester County. Lifesized marble sculpture on granite pedestal with bronze tablet. Bronze was presumably stripped and recoated at an unknown date and has not been hot waxed. The granite and marble were treated with D/2 and a coat of paste wax was applied to the bronze surfaces in 2021. The monument was maintained in 2021.

8. Ml85 Thomas Holliday Hicks Monument, Cambridge Cemetery, Cemetery Ave. east of Academy St., Cambridge. Life-sized marble figure on granite base, with one bronze tablet on front of pedestal. The marble figure was treated with D/2 in 2017 and 2021. Black crusts were noted under coattails, and bio-staining and lichens noted on the back of the head. Water is available. The monument was maintained in 2021.

9. M187 World War I Memorial Fountain, north end of High Street, Long Wharf Municipal Park, Cambridge. There is a small bronze plaque set into the base of the fountain. It was last waxed in 2017. There are no rosettes, as mounting screws are not tapped to receive rosettes. The monument was maintained in 2021. The concrete plinth that holds the plaque was repaired in October 2022.

10. M188 World War II Memorial, facing Water Street in Long Wharf Municipal Park, Cambridge. The monument had biological staining in 2021. A D/2 treatment was applied in 2021. There is no bronze. The monument was maintained in 2021.

11. M373 Wicomico County War Memorial, U.S. 13 & Priscilla Street, Salisbury. Bronze tablet 4' square on painted concrete obelisk 30' high, with bronze eagle at top. The concrete plinth and obelisk were repainted in 2017. A lift can be provided by the city. Water is available. The monument was maintained in May 2021. The bronze was stripped and rewaxed in September 2023.

12. -15. M385 Worcester County World War I Monument, M386 World War II Monument, M383 Korean War Plaque, M384 Vietnam War Plaque, Courthouse, Market Street, Snow Hill. The World War I Monument is composed of a bronze tablet, 2'-2" wide and 3'-4" high on a rusticated granite stone 3'-5" wide, 6' high and 3' deep. The World War II Monument is similar in design and scale. The Korean War Plaque is much newer in appearance and only 2' wide and 1' high on a low granite plinth 2'-5" wide, 1'-4" high and 10" deep. The Vietnam War Plaque is lacquered and should only be washed and cold paste waxed. Water is available. At 2017 maintenance, conservators reported the World War I and ll bronze plaques appear to have been coated with lacquer or other coating in the recent past. The monuments were maintained in May 2021. The bronzes were stripped and rewaxed in September 2023.

16. M3l9 The Spirit of the American Doughboy stands in the American Legion section of the Crisfield Cemetery on Somerset Avenue. It is a life-sized sheet copper sculpture of an infantryman by E. M. Viquesney, manufactured in Americus, Georgia, and dedicated in 1923. The Doughboy stands on a granite pedestal with a bronze tablet on the front. A replacement bayonet was made and installed in 1997. The hilt was cast and the blade and guard were fabricated from sheet stock. The bayonet was soldered at the end of the barrel with soft solder and the hilt was secured to the stock with 3M clear epoxy. The rifle sling was also repaired and new sling buckles were fabricated from bronze rod and attached with a flat staple and solder. Repairs were patinated with cupric nitrate, ferric nitrate and ammonium sulfide, and treated with BTA. Five punctured holes were repaired with Milliput epoxy paste in 2013: bottom edge of backpack, proper right foot near the laces, proper left foot near the shin, proper right lower chest near the buckles, and proper right thigh below the tunic. Water is available from a pump house across the street from the site. The monument was maintained in May 2021. The monument was stripped and rewaxed in August 2023.

Procurement Program Participation Goals