Medals Related to Mythology

The obverse bears head of mother with closed eyes holding her child with long hand supporting head. Along left and right edges, PRO / PATRIA

The reverse depicts Prometheus chained to rock at ankles and wrists, attacked by eagle. At top, left, and right, PRO / HVMANI / TATE (mark composed of crossed flaming torches over bar); signed below, Joseph E. Renier. Sc. / ©

Renier dedicated this medal to "all those who contriute their something to life." He wrote in the medal's brochure:

"The underlying theme of this medal is the devotion of womanhood and manhood to country and to humanity. "

1941 was the year America officially entered World War II and the theme of "sacrifice" and "devotion" was lay heavily on people's minds. Prometheus' "For Humanity" applies to the legen just as it applied to how American's saw their involvement in the war.

This medal was chosen as the 23rd issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1941. It measures 73mm in diameter and was produced by the Medallic Art Company of New York which struck 849 pieces in bronze and 100 in silver.

References:   MACo 1930-001-023, Marqusee 330, SoM 23

The medal's obverse, designed by Mario Korbel, bears St. George slaying a dragon with Swastika on its wing. Around, ·· SAINT GEORGE ·· / OF ENGLAND; signed under dragon, MK

The reverse, designed by Paul Manship, bears a displayed American Eagle flanked by two stars. Around, · UNITED · WE · STAND · / · AMERICA ·; signed under eagles foot on right, PM

This medal was issued for the British-American Ambulance Corps. A companion piece executed entirely by Korbel combined this obverse with a reverse utilizing a thumbs-up — forward to victory motif.

The circular medal measures 38.5mm in diameter and is holed for supension.

References:   MACo 1941-036-02

The uniface medal bears Demeter, Greek goddess of Agriculture, aided in her efforts by Sun, Sea, and Soil, bearing bundles of grain; scientist and chemical laboratory equipment in background.  Around, FRITZSCHE BROTHERS, INCORPORATED / 1871 · SEVENTY-FIFTH · ANNIVERSARY · 1946

Fritzsche Brothers was established on August 28, 1871, at 62 Cedar Street, New York City, as a subsidiary of chemical maker Schimmel & Co., of Leipzig, Germany, for the purpose of importing and selling essential oils. After more than 80 years in business the company sold itself to Dodge & Olcott, which in turn was bought by German chemical giant BASF, which then sold the unit off to Givaudan.

The anniversary medal bears the design of a previously inaugurated Fritzsche Brothers award medal.  As the brochure accompanying the medal explained, combining Demeter with a modern scientist symbolizes the chemical industry's higher purpose of "converting Nature's bounty to the needs of Man."

The medal usually comes mounted on a wooden paperweight. Establishing the weight and potential edge markings would require the object's disassembly, which I didn't want to do. If anyone has a loose medal and can take the measurements, I'd appreciate the missing data.

References:   MACo 1946-011

References:   MACo 1949-016

The plaque depicts nude male figure, striding left, bearing torch and palm frond; behind him, rearing Pegasus and disc with SAFETY legend. Around top, ROHM & HAAS SAFETY AWARD; in exergue, AWARDED TO THE EMPLOYEES OF THE / BRIDESBURG PLANT / INTERLPANT SAFETY CONTEST / 1954; signed above exergue at right, RENE CHAMBELLAN SC.

The company was founded in Esslingen, Germany, by Dr. Otto Röhm and Otto Haas in 1907. Haas moved to Philadelphia and began the American side of the business on September 1, 1909, from an office on Front Street, while Otto Röhm remained in Germany to run a company that would eventually become Röhm GmbH.  The American side of the business grew rapidly and its annual revenue in 2008 reached almost $9 billion. In 2009, the Dow Chemical Corporation acquired Rohm & Haas, ending its independence.

The plaque was awarded to Rohm & Haas plants that had achieved outstanding results in attaining the company's objectives in industrial safety.  Usually, this meant an entire year of operations without an accident that caused the loss of work time due to injury. The plaque depicted is dated 1954 and that is the earliest mention of the award I could find.  While I can't know for sure, I would date the plaque to the early 1950's. Any additional information would be appreciated.

The plaque is cast in coppery bronze and measures 273mm x 395mm. No mintage is reported though it was still being awarded in the 1970's, so there must be quite a few of them around.

The medal's obverse bears a muscular nude goddess of art holding a small Nike with Pegasus and guiding star behind. The reverse bears a hand holding a modeling tool in front of a caliper and L-square. Around, THIS ABOVE ALL TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE.

The purpose of Abram Belskie's medal is not known, but the title, a line from Shakespeare's Hamlet, suggests that this medal was commissioned to honor artistic achievement and to encourage artists to follow their own creative impulses. In the artist's own words:

"The drama of Sculpture does not always appear on the surface but its story is indeed the story of civilization. Art is a goddess who smiles upon all, though mostly on her votaries and whose charms are very young. The sculptors of every age are the true mute though not inglorious laureates of their time and as long as men remain men, the principals [sic] of eternal beauty will woo their imagination."

This medal was chosen as the 49th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. The Society's members seemed torn on this medal. While some found it beautiful and even without peer, others objected to lack of detail, anatomical weaknesses, and being "too modernistic for plain men."

The circular medal measures 73mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company.  The mintage was reported as 748 pieces in bronze. The number of silver pieces is not known but the edition was limited to 700.

References:   MACo 1930-001-049, SoM 49

References:   MACo 1955-054

The medallion's obverse bears standing Athena, facing, holding laurels of victory in one hand while supporting burning oil lamp of wisdom on pedestal with other. Across, CENTURY / ASSOCI- ATION

The reverse bears streamer with inscription above mepty cartouche. Streamer reads PRESENTED / BY THE / BOARD of MANAGEMENT / TO CENTURION; signed and dated in tiny letters under cartouche, PM - 55

From 1950 to 1953, Paul Manship was president of the Century Association, which was organized in 1847 as an exclusively male club for amateurs and professionals in the arts and letters. This award was established in 1954 by the association’s Board of Management.

The circular medallions measure between 89.7mm and 91mm and were cast in bronze. No mintage is reported.

References:   ANS 48

This medal's obverse bears Pegasus in flight above buildings representing historical landmarks in architecture; from left to right, the Sphinx, the Parthenon, the Coliseum, and skyscrapers with two eagles perched on top. The buildings rest on overlapping branches growing from architects' and sculptors' tools in exergue. Around top, NATIONAL - SCULPTURE - SOCIETY; over Sphinx, 3500 B.C.; over Parthenon, 438 B.C., over Coliseum, 80 A.D.; on sky scraper, 20 / CENTURY; above exergue, HENRY HERING / MEMORIAL MEDAL

The reverse bears conjoined eagles, one with wings spread, both perching on plinth; oak branches on both sides. At top, LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE BEFORE MEN / MATT 5:16; across, AWARDED AS A MARK OF DISTINCTION / FOR OUTSTANDING COOPERATION / BETWEEN ARCHITECT AND SCULPTOR; signed in exergue to left and right of plinth, ALBINO - MANCA

The National Sculpture Society's Henry Hering Memorial Award (or Henry Hering Art and Architecture Award as it is now called) was created in 1959 and is awarded for excellence in an architectural project in which the architect collaborated with the sculptor and owner of a site. The medal is not given annually; it is awarded when the circumstance arises. Originally, there were three categories: regligious, monumental, and commercial. The jury is composed of three sculptors and two architects.

The award is named for Henry Hering (1874-1949), a brilliant architectural sculptor who had a studio in New York but whose most famous works are mainly located in the mid-west.

One interesting anecdote about Hering involves a plane crash in 1945. A military B-25 had crashed into the Empire State Building. While most of the wreckage had either embedded itself in the building or fallen to the ground, one engine continued on its way for several blocks and finally ended its voyage in Henry Hering's penthouse, destroying approximately $75,000 worth of work.

This particular medal was awarded for work in the religious category in 1961. The project was the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The recipients were Eugene F. Kennedy, Jr. of Maginnis Walsh & Kennedy (the Boston architect) and Francis Cardinal Spellman representing the Catholic Church (the owner). The same year, Paul Manship won the award in the monumental category, along with Eric Gugler of Gugler, Kimball & Husted for the American war memorial at Anzio-Nettuno in Italy.

The circular medal measures 76.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. Many thanks to Lorraine Burns for the beautiful pictures and the sleuthing involved in tracking down this particular medal's detailed history.

References:   MACo 1959-031