Scottish American War Memorial, The Spirit of 1914 Country Life Magazine Portrait September 3 1927

Scottish American War Memorial, The Spirit of 1914, The Call by Robert Tait McKenzie Country Life Magazine Portrait, Frontispiece, September 3 1927. LXII No. 1598

The featured frontispiece this week is a portrait of the Scottish American War Memorial, commonly known as “The Call” or “The Call 1914”, designed by the Canadian-American sculptor Robert Tait McKenzie (1867–1938). Unveiled in 1927, it was presented by Scottish-Americans to commemorate the service and sacrifice of Scottish soldiers in the First World War.

• The Spirit of 1914: The central figure is a bronze statue of a seated Scottish soldier, dressed in a kilt, leaning forward with a rifle across his knees, symbolising the call to arms at the outbreak of war in 1914.
• Symbolism: The figure represents the readiness and resolve of ordinary men answering their country’s call.
• The Frieze: Behind the central figure is a stone wall with a detailed bronze frieze depicting soldiers from varied backgrounds—miners, shepherds, and townsmen—marching from civilian life into military service.

This is an authentic original page from Country Life magazine, part of the iconic series often affectionately referred to as the “Girls in Pearls” portraits — elegant society images that captured a distinctive era of British publishing and portraiture.

Size: Approximately 13.75 x 9 inches (35 x 23 cm)

Condition: Very good for its age. As with all vintage magazine pages, light signs of handling or minor age-related blemishes may be present. Please review the large photo carefully for full condition details.

This original Country Life Magazine frontispiece portrait forms part of The Old Map Shop’s curated archive of society portraits published between 1897 and 2026.