John R. Sinnock

The obverse bears angel of peace (or victory) in center, U.S. infantrymen to left, navy gunner to right. Signed at lower right, S.

The reverse bears heraldic symbols of the victorios Entente nations above Gridiron Club symbol. Below, THIRTY - FOURTH / ANNUAL PEACE DINNER / THE GRIDIRON CLUB / WASHINGTON D.C. / DEC. 13. 1919.

The Gridiron Club, founded in 1885, is the oldest journalistic organization in Washington, D.C. The club is best known for its annual dinner which traditionally features the United States Marine Band, along with satirical musical skits by the members and remarks by the President of the United States and representatives of each political party. The skits and speeches by various politicians are expected to be self-deprecating or otherwise sharply comedic. Since its inception, every President except Grover Cleveland has spoken at the dinner.

The thirtyfourth annual dinner held on December 13, 1919 was called the "Peace Dinner" to celebrate the end of World War I and the beginning of a long lasting peace after "the war to end all wars" had come to an end. Woodrow Wilson used his speech to thank the nation for its efforts and to chart out the future of international relations.

The medal measures 70mm in diameter and was struck by the U.S. Mint.

The medal's obverse bears bust of J. Ramsay MacDonald, Prime Minister of Great Britain, r.  To left and right, J. RAMSAY - MACDONALD; signed over shoulder at left, (JRS monogram with ©)

The reverse bears two fasces flanking legend, COMMEMORATING / THE VISIT OF / J. RAMSAY MACDONALD / PRIME MINISTER / OF / GREAT BRITAIN / TO / AMERICA / OCTOBER 1929; around bottom,  AN ART MEDAL MADE BY MEDALLIC ART CO. NEW YORK

J. Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937) was the first Labour Party Prime Minister, leading Labour governments in 1924, 1929–1931 and, having been expelled from the party he had helped to found, a National Government from 1931 to 1935.

The circular medal measures 70.7mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1929-081

The plaquette's obverse bears bust of Edison facing right. On right side, EDISON; signed with Sinnock's monogram J © R / S

The reverse bears the legend LIGHT'S / GOLDEN JUBILEE / 1879 - 1929 / AN ART MEDAL / MADE BY / MEDALLIC ART COMPANY / NEW YORK

Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) was of course the serial inventor and businessman who is generally credited with inventing the electric light bulb, the phonograph, the telephone and many other important innovations in the field of electricity and power transmission.

Light's Golden Jubilee was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Edison's incandescent light bulb, held on October 21, 1929, just days before the stock market crash of 1929 that swept the United States headlong into the Great Depression. The Jubilee also served as the dedication of Henry Ford's Greenfield Village, originally known as the Thomas Edison Institute.

This plaquette is one of two instances on which the Medallic Art Company used the term "Art Medal" in 1929. The other is the medal commemorating J. Ramsay MacDonald's visit to the U.S.

The plaquette measures 58mm x 77mm and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1929-057

The medal's obverse bears portrait of William Fahnestock. Around top, · FAHNESTOCK · & · CO · ; To left, WILLIAM / FAHNESTOCK / FOUNDER; to right, 1881 / 1931; signed above right shoulder, (JSR monogram)

The medal's reverse bears a beautifully detailed street scene of New York's Wall Street. To left, WALL / STREET; to right, 1881; signed at bottom, (JSR monogram)

William Fahnestock (1858-1936) beccame the youngest member of the New York Stock exchange at age 23. A year later, he opened the doors to Fahnestock & Co with his father, Harris C. Fahnestock, at 2 Wall Street. After a series of consolidations and mergers, the firm is now part of Oppenheimer & Co., Inc.

The circular medal measures 76mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1931-001, Marqusee 355

The medal's obverse bears a portrait of Charles Dickens, facing half right. Around top, CHARLES DICKENS; to left and right, ISSUED · IN / COMMEMORAT / ION · OF · THE - FIFTIETH / ANNIVERSARY / OF · CHARLES / SESSLER / 1932; signed along edge over left shoulder, SINNOCK

The reverse bears  a scene from "A Christmas Carol." Around, · 1882 · PHILADELPHIA · 1932 · / · RARE BOOKS (open book) FINE PRINTS · ; flanking scene, A / Christmas - Carol / 1843; signed in cursive under scene.

Charles Sessler was a rare book dealer whose store was located in a building on Philadelphia's Walnut Street. The building still exists and today houses the W. Graham Arader Gallery. Charles Sessler commissioned J.R. Sinnock to design this medal for his store's 50th anniversary.  The medal was given as a gift to select customers and friends.  Sessler wrote a dedication fthat was printed on the inside of the medal box's lid. It read:

1882—1932

I have called upon my favorite author,
Charles Dickens, to celebrate with me
the fiftieth anniversary of my career as
a bookseller.

The portrait is from an original photo-
graph of the immortal author.

The reverse ilustrates the frontispiece of
"A Christmas Carol" which is so aptly
called by A. Edward Newton, "the gayest
little picture in all the world." It is a
symbol of the happiness with which I
spend my time with books.

Presented to a few friends and patrons.

CHARLES SESSLER. 

The circular medal measures 76.3mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported. A uniface variant is also known to exist.

References:   MACo 1931-062-001

The obverse bears  woman kneeling in gratitude with old-fashioned broom beneath her, being raised by goddess; trees and sun in background. Above, HOOVER SILVER JUBILEE; at lower left, 1907 / 1932.

The reverse bears image of Hoover's factory. Above, IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION / OF THE COOPERATION TENDERED / DURING THE HOOVER SILVER / JUBILEE 1932;

The Hoover Company was founded as a floor care manufacturer in North Canton, Ohio, in 1908. It so completely dominated the electric vacuum cleaner market in the first half of the 20th century that "hoovering" became synonymous with vacuum cleaning, much as "googling" became synonymous with web searching at the beginning of the 21st century.

I have always loved Sinnock's design for the obverse because it is so completely over the top. While I would never belittle the impact that the invention of the vaccum cleaner had on a woman cleaning house in the 1930s, I always have to smile at the woman's look of abject adoration at the prospect of being freed from toil and at the rising sun promising a brighter future. Yes, Sinnock really crafted a medal in the classic mythological mould for the topic of electric vacuum cleaners!

The obverse was reused for several other medals.

The circular medal measures 70.3mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York City. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1932-037

The galvano's obverse bears bust of Earl B. Barnes, a director of Medallic Art Company, facing left. Above, · EARL · B · BARNES ·; signed and dated at lower right, (JSR monogram) / 1935

In the late 1930's, John Curlee Trees, the owner of Medallic Art Company, engaged John R. Sinnock, then working as engraver at the U.S. Mint, to design five portrait medals of MACo's Board of Directors. Medallic Art Company usually created at least one large galvano for each medal they produced. This plaque comes from the family of one of the Directors. Whether all Directors received one or whether this is a unique piece is hard to establish but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has another one or can provide additional information.

The galvano plaque measures approximately 305mm (12") in diameter and was produced by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

The galvano's obverse bears bust of the owner of Medallic Art Company, Clyde C. Trees, facing left; to his right, medal press in a circle. Above, · CLYDE · C · TREES ·; signed and dated at lower left, (JSR monogram) / 1940

In the late 1930's, John Curlee Trees, the owner of Medallic Art Company, engaged John R. Sinnock, then working as engraver at the U.S. Mint, to design five portrait medals of MACo's Board of Directors. Medallic Art Company usually created at least one large galvano for each medal they produced. This plaque comes from the family of one of the Directors. Whether all Directors received one or whether this is a unique piece is hard to establish but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has another one or can provide additional information.

The galvano plaque measures approximately 305mm (12") in diameter and was produced by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

This medal's obverse bears group of three figures, standing, toga-wearing female with spear held in one hand and shield raised protectively over seated mother with naked toddler. Around, THE · EQUITABLE · LIFE · ASSURANCE · SOCIETY · OF · THE · UNITED · STATES

The reverse bears text in center, 100th / Anniversary; around, ★ 1859 ★ 1959 ★ / A CENTURY OF SECURITY

The edge is marked MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y.; two holes indicate that the medals was once mounted in a desktop holder.

The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States was founded by Henry Baldwin Hyde in 1859. Its first headquarters were in the Equitable Life Building, near Wall Street, which opened its doors in 1875. In 1905, James Hazen Hyde, the founder's son and successor as President of the company, found himself at the center of the so called Hyde Costume Ball Scandal, a smear campaign manufactured by other Board members and designed to wrest control of the company from him. The scandal resulted in a Wall Street panic and an investigation of the entire insurance industry. Today, the company is known as AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company.

The medal represents a collaboration by two artists: its artistic obverse was designed and modeled by Sinnock while the text-oriented reverse was done by Roberts.

The circular medal measures 69.9mm in diameter and was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1958-043-001

This uniface medal's obverse bears bust of R. Tait McKenzie bearing left. Around top, 1867 · R. TAIT McKENZIE · 1938; at bottom, CENTENNIAL OF HIS BIRTH - 1967 / PHYSICIAN · EDUCATOR · SCULPTOR; signed on truncation, J.R.SINNOCK

The portrait goes back to an earlier design that J.R. Sinnock had created in 1936. He and McKenzie had created uniface medals bearing each other's likenesses and the Medallic Art Company had produced them. For this medal, Ramon Gordils created new lettering around the original portrait.

The circular medal measures 63.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1967-049