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The idea of giving a public fountain to the city of Cincinnati had been considered by Henry Probasco and his business partner and brother-in-law Tyler Davidson for some time, but it was only after Mr. Davidson's death in 1865 that Mr. Probasco set forth with new resolve to raise this monument as a memorial to his friend, as well as a token of his affection to the city that had make him wealthy. In 1866 Mr. Probasco journeyed to Europe with the express purpose of viewing the public fountains of the continent in hopes of finding a model for his own. He had decided that he wanted to avoid mythological patterns such as Neptune, Triton, water nymphs and mermaids. As these were the convention of the day, he found no model which he could adopt for his own use. It was not until he visited the Royal Bronze Foundry of Bavaria in Munich and had paid a visit to its director, Herr Ferdinand von Miller, that he met with an artist whose ideas followed the same direction as his own. Herr von Miller showed Mr. Probasco some drawings of a fountain that had been drawn several years earlier by the Nuremburg artist, August von Kreling, the son in law of the artist Kaulbach. This design symbolized the many uses and benefits of water to mankind, without using any of the mythological emblems that Probasco was trying so hard to avoid. Herr von Miller had kept these sketches, hoping to eventually receive an order for such a fountain from some royalty or otherwise wealthy personage. But because of the great expense that would be involved in building it, and perhaps from its unconventional and modern design, he had been unsuccessful up to this point. Mr. Probasco realized that this was the design he had been looking for. It was accepted, and directions were given to make the fountain yet more elaborate. He wanted it to be a drinking fountain as well as an ornament, and thus four figures of young boys were added to the rim of the fountain basin to fulfill this purpose. The design of the fountain can be divided in to four distinct parts, each one portraying a different use or need for water: |
