All Medals

References:   MACo 1912-G1

The obverse bears five nude youths bearing father's bier. The youngest carries a laurel wreath. Around, IN PEACE SONS BURY THEIR FATHERS; at lower left, BEACH / © 1937.

The reverse bears a gaunt father carrying son's body from the battlefield as vultures circle. Around, IN WAR THE FATHERS BURY THEIR SONS.

The brochure which acommpanied the medal had the following words from the artist:

"The tought of the medal is a simple, universal one when men pause to think straight; for that reason I have designed the medal as of no particular period. The Greeks probably put it most tersely, 'In Peace the Sons bury the Fathers, in War the Fathers bury the Sons.' Are our young men to be buried almost before mature manhood, under long rows of stone crosses, or are they to round out their lives and in turn be buried in reverence by their sons in peace? A thought to keep well before our vision as present war clouds again surround us."

Chester Beach put it well but what were the old and the young men to do when young men in other countries were being led towards war by their leaders?

This medal was chosen as the 16th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series in 1937. Struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York, the reported production quantity of this medal is 941 in bronze and 100 in silver.

References:   MACo 1930-001-016, Marqusee 51, SoM 16

References:   HSoNY 1906

References:   MACo 1963-001-025, GANYU 25

The obverse bears Art Deco image of Bellerophon with lyre riding winged pegasus above sun. Around, ART DIRECTORS CLUB / INCORPORATED 1920.

The reverse bears painter with palette and brush in center. Around center, AWARDED FOR SPECIAL MERIT. Around edge, laurel wreath with (PM monogram) at bottom.

The edge is marked MEDALLIC ART CO. N.Y.

Louis Pedlar founded the Art Directors' Club of New York in 1920 in response to the uncertain relationship between advertising art and fine art. Pedlar assembled a group of art buyers, art department managers and layout artists to ponder whether advertising art could be judged by the same stringent standards as fine art.

Obviously the answer was "yes" because Paul Manship was asked to create a medal to be used as an award. Awards were given annually in the areas of black-and-white illustration, color illustration, oil painting, and poster art, though not always in all areas.

An article published in Printers' Ink Monthly outlines the process that was used:

"All mediums were given consideration; black-and-white, flat color, oil painting and decorative design. A rigid standard of selection was enforced, and the 300 pictures shown, selected from many thousands submitted, represented the best there is in advertiding design.

Both the organization and the award still exist but the medal was replaced by a modern cube in the 1970's.

The medal measures 54mm (2 1/8in) in diameter and were manufactured by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1921-07, Murtha 139

The uniface medal bears seated nude female figure holding scales in her right hand within geometric pattern border.  Downwards at right side, LIBRA; under crossed feet at bottom, © MACO - 1967

Chambellan's Zodiac medals were issued more than a decade after his death and are probably based on designs he made in the early 1930s when he was working on the RKO Roxy Theater.  The 1960s saw renewed interest in astrology and the signs of the zodiac arising in part from the counter-cultural hippie movement and its subsequent adoption into mainstream culture.

Libra is the seventh astrological sign in the Zodiac. It spans 180°–210° celestial longitude. Under the tropical zodiac, Sun transits this area on average between September 23 and October 23, and under the sidereal zodiac, the sun currently transits the constellation of Libra from approximately October 16 to November 17.

The symbol of the scales is based on the Scales of Justice held by Themis, the Greek personification of divine law and custom. She became the inspiration for modern depictions of Lady Justice.

The ruling planet of Libra is Venus. Libra is the only zodiac constellation in the sky represented by an inanimate object. The other eleven signs are represented either as an animal or mythological characters throughout history. Libra is one of the three zodiac air signs, the others being Gemini and Aquarius.

The Libra medal has unusually high relief, with the female figure's head rising a full 5mm above the medal's surface plane, effectively doubling the medal's thickness.

My silver variant is engraved on the reverse.  The dedication reads:  TODD H. OVERTON, J.D., M.D. / OCTOBER 12. 1937

The circular medal measures between 69.7 and 69.8mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  No mintages are reported but based on my experience I believe the silver variant to be very rare.

References:   MACo 1967-151-010

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Vail, facing. Around, on raised rim, THEODORE NEWTON VAIL / HE MADE NEIGHBORS OF HVNDRED MILLION PEOPLE; signed, barely visibly, over right shoulder, LUINI

The reverse bears old-fashioned phone receivers connected by wires on raised rim. In center field, PRESENTED · BY · THE / AMERICAN · TELEPHONE · AND / TELEGRAPH · CO · TO · THE · TELEPHONE / PIONEERS · OF · AMERICA · AS · A / MEMORIAL · TO · HIM · WHOSE · LIFE / CHARACTER · AND · INDUSTRY · WERE / AN · INSPIRATION · TO · THE / MEMBERS · OF · THAT · SOCIETY / MONTREAL (oak leaves) CANADA / SEPTEMBER · 10 · 1920

This is the first version of the Theodore Newton Vail medal. It was delineated by Harry Bates Thayer, company president, honoring famed American telephone pioneer and company founder Theodore Newton Vail.  The medal was only issued for the four years between 1917 and 1920.  Adolph A. Weinman designed and modeled the later version of the medal that was used from 1922 onwards.

The circular medal measures 76.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by Tiffany & Co. of New York. No mintage is reported. The medal probably exists in at least silver, probably even a few pieces in gold, but I have not seen any evidence of those variants.

The medal's obverse bears conjoined busts of Peter MacGregor Fraser and James Lee Loomis, r. Around, · PETER MACGREGOR FRASER · JAMES LEE-LOOMIS · / THE CONNECTICUT MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY; signed at left, (ELB monogram)

The reverse bears CM logo in shape of greek temple. Around, THE STRENGTH OF A CENTURY / SAFEGUARDS YOUR FAMILY'S FUTURE; across, 1846 - 1946

The Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company merged with the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1996, the year of its 150th anniversary.

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.

References:   MACo 1946-027

The medal's obverse bears portrait of John Paul Jones, facing left; ship under full sail to his right. Around, · THE · HALL · OF · FAME · FOR · GREAT · AMERICANS AT NEW · YORK · UNIVERSITY · ; thirteen stars underneath; across left, JOHN / PAUL / JONES / 1747 / 1792; signed and dated at bottom, (ML monogram) 1968 ©

The reverse bears Jones holding cutlass on deck of sinking ship, three boarders swinging from rigging to his right.

This medal is the 53rd issue of the Hall of Fame for Great Americans at New York University medal series.

The medal was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  The bronze variants exist in large 76.7mm and small 44mm diameters, the silver variant only in the small diameter. No mintages are reported.

References:   MACo 1963-001-053, GANYU 53