Art Deco

The medal's obverse bears kneeling archer with drawn bow, facing right; sun at his feet, stars above, cape flowing over his left shoulder. Signed at lower left, (GSC monogram)

The reverse bears a view of of the Municipal Building of Springfield, Massachusetts over two branches of laurel and oak. Around top, · 1636 · SPRINGFIELD · 1852; across, TO / COMMEMORATE / THE DEDICATION OF / THE MVNICIPAL BVILDINGS / OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD / · MASSACHVSETTS ON THE / EIGHTH AND NINTH DAYS OF DECEMBER / IN THE YEAR OF OVR LORD · NINE- /TEEN HVNDRED AND THIRTEEN; under buildings, 1913

This medal represents an interesting collaboration: Gail Corbett designed the medal's obverse and Felix Weil, one of the founders of the Medallic Art Company, the reverse.

This circular medal measures 63.8mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

Many thanks to the Numismatic department of the Yale University Art Gallery for their generosity and support in granting me access to this medal for research.

References:   MACo 1913-009

The medal's obverse bears kneeling semi-nude female figure facing left, holding goddess of victory in one hand, lyre in the other. Around, · ST · PAUL ·  - · INSTITUTE · ; signed in exergue, P · MANSHIP

The reverse bears winged steed in flight over large sun; wreath around bottom.

Paul Manship attended the St. Paul School of Art, which was later renamed to Saint Paul Institute of Arts and Sciences. I guess this medal was a thank you to his alma mater where his lifelong passion for sculpture was first kindled.

The medal's reverse is very reminiscent of the Art Directors' Club medal's obverse.

The circular medal measures 53.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   Baxter 364, MACo 1916-012-01, Murtha 76

The medal's obverse bears dolphins over anchor, over crossed cannon barrels and fasces; large round knob at top.

The reverse is bare.

It is unknown whether Manship created this design for a commission, a design competition, or independently from a sense of patriotic fervor. Manship certainly was a fierce patriot who did what he could to support the war effort.

The exact date for this design is also not known but one of the other designs, the Army Valor decoration, has a sample date of 1918 inscribed on the reverse.  They all date roughly to the end of World War I, probably 1918 or 1919.

The cast bronze measures approximately 67mm x 79mm and weighs 238.5g.

The medal's obverse bears American eagle holding arrows and olive branch in its talons on shield over crossed cannon barrels and fasces; large round knob above cartouche with VALOR at top.

The reverse bears a cartouche with ARMY under ball at top and a scroll inscribed with AWARDED TO / JOHN / DOE / 1918.

It is unknown whether Manship created this design for a commission, a design competition, or independently from a sense of patriotic fervor. Manship certainly was a fierce patriot who did what he could to support the war effort.

The sample inscription on the reverse indicates that he created the design in 1918 but he could certainly have used the prior year's number in a later design.

The cast bronze measures approximately 76.8mm x 96.9mm and weighs 273.7g.

The medal's obverse bears American eagle holding arrows and olive branch in its talons forming body of medal over crossed fasces. At top, ball and cartouche inscribed with VALOR

The reverse bears a scroll for dedication and two protruding bearings, unholed.

While similar to the other decoration designs, this one lacks the cannons, probably meaning that it was intended as a valor decoration applying to the entire armed services rather than just the Army.

It is unknown whether Manship created this design for a commission, a design competition, or independently from a sense of patriotic fervor. Manship certainly was a fierce patriot who did what he could to support the war effort. The exact date for this design is also not known but one of the other designs, an Army Valor decoration, has a sample date of 1918 inscribed on the reverse.  They all date roughly to the end of World War I, probably 1918 or 1919.

The cast bronze measures approximately 91.4mm x 92mm and weighs 341.2g.

The medal's obverse bears American eagle holding arrows and olive branch in its talons on shield over crossed cannon barrels and fasces; large round knob at top.

The reverse bears a scroll for dedication and two protruding bearings, unholed.

It is unknown whether Manship created this design for a commission, a design competition, or independently from a sense of patriotic fervor. Manship certainly was a fierce patriot who did what he could to support the war effort. The exact date for this design is also not known but one of the other designs, the Army Valor decoration, has a sample date of 1918 inscribed on the reverse.  They all date roughly to the end of World War I, probably 1918 or 1919.

The cast bronze measures approximately 64.3mm x 79.5mm and weighs 251.7g.

The plaquette bears sword-wielding goddess of victory striding left, facing right; behind her, eagle swooping towards left edge where sun is rising. Around top, on scroll, VICTORY; at bottom, ART / WAR / RELIEF

Paul Manship was a fierce patriot and supporter of the Red Cross' humanitarian efforts in Europe. On the U.S. homefront, he was a member of auxiliary 282 of the New York Chapter of the Red Cross, also called "Art War Relief."  That group assisted the war effort by raising funds via the sale of donated art, by creating special patriotic art, and by painting landscape targets for the training of artillery personnel.

Manship's plaquette is a beautiful example of art -deco bas-relief. It usually comes mounted on a black bakelit base and can be found in original bronze or patinated green variants.  It is part of many museum collections world-wide.

The plaquette itself measures 60mm by 76mm and is made of bronze. No mintage is reported.

References:   Baxter 368

The medal's obverse bears three figures facing left, nude winged male in center, holding laurel crowns in both hands, flanked by women wearing toga-like dresses; woman at right holding what appears to be an apple. Signed with artists (EZ monogram) on small shield at lower left.

The reverse bears legend only. In center field within decorative border, THE / MR AND MRS / FRANK G LOGAN / MEDAL / AWARDED TO / CHARLES LOCKE / 1935; around, THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

Charles Wheeler Locke (1899-1983) was a painter, lithographer, illustrator and teacher.  He was born in Cincinatti, Ohio on August 31, 1899. He studied at the Cincinatti Art Academy and the New York Art Students' League with Joseph Pennell. He was a teacher at the Art Students' League when he won this award.

The medal is a beautiful example of late art nouveau, early art deco design. In my opinion, Zettler's medallic works are easily on a par with the works of the best French and American artists of the period.

The circular medal measures 75mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1919-002

The medallion's obverse bears nude Mercury, head turned towards left. He is soaring above harbor, city skyline to left and large freighter approaching from right. At left and right, 1850 - 1925; signed around bottom right, ARTHUR LEE

The reverse bears anvil with scroll above surface. Around, THE WELL-BEING OF MEN IS FORGED ON THE ANVIL OF INDUSTRY / & MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE CHANNELS OF TRADE; above anvil, MARCH 28 · 1925; scroll inscribed with WALTER E. FREW

The edge is marked GORHAM CO FOUNDERS OFCI

The medallion celebrates the 75th anniversary of Lehman Brothers, a finance firm whose storied career came to an infamous end in 2008 when its bancruptcy declaration triggered a global financial crisis. In 1925, the year of this medallion's issue, Lehman Brothers had just added its first non-family partner and was rapidly becoming one of the premier investment banks of the world. Often working in conjunction with Goldman Sachs, they brought such giants as Sears, Roebuck & Co., Woolworth, Gimbel Bros., R. H. Macy, Studebaker and Goodrich Co. to market.

This particular medallion is inscribed to Walter E. Frew (1864-1941), who was Chairman of the Corn Exchange Bank and Trust Company from 1929 to his death in 1941. Lehman Brothers handled a large stock issuance for the company and this medallion was probably given to him as a deal memento.

Arthur Lee was called upon again twenty-five years later to create a medallion for Lehman's 100th anniversary. That later version was smaller but shared this medallion's general design, with the exception of different dates and a slightly different legend on the reverse. It was manufactured by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

The circular medallion measures 122mm in diameter and was cast in bronze and gold-plated by the Gorham Company of Providence, RI.

The medal's obverse bears kneeling female representing Friendliness, with arms outstretched at aerial view of fair grounds. Around, incuse, PACIFIC SOUTHWEST EXPOSITION / LONG BEACH CALIFORNIA 1928; in exergue, FRIENDLINESS;

The reverse bears art-deco styled winged female wearing Victory crown and holding blank cartouche for inscription. Signed at lower left, R. N. Burnham

The circular medal measures 50.8mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1928-031