All Medals

The obverse bears nude in Atlas-like pose, carrying pblic and industrial buildings on his shoulders. Around, WALTER KIDDE - CONSTRUCTORS; in bottom half to left and right of figure, 1900 - 1950; signed at lower right, (WC monogram).

The reverse bears tools of the constrution trade. In field, IDENTIFIED WITH / DISTINGUISHED / ENGINEERING AND / CONSTRUCTION FOR / HALF A CENTURY

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

Walter Kidde was born in 1877 and graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1897. At the age of 23 Walter Kidde started Walter Kidde & Company. Walter Kidde & Company helped build ship yards at Port Newark and Kearny. He later joined the New Jersey State Highway Commission. During his time there, he oversaw the first traffic circle in Camden, the first clover-leaf intersection and most importantly the Pulaski Skyway in 1932.

Though he started out in the construction business, the company took a different turn and grew into a fire suppression equipment manufacturer. Kidde & Company had perfected carbon dioxide-based fire extinguishers and became a big supplier for industrial buildings and the military.

Walter Kidde died in 1943, seven years before this medal was commissioned to celebrate the company he had created.

The medal measures 73mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1948-001

The medal's obverse bears bare-chested Simeon, facing, sun to his left, building and palm trees to his right.At upper left, SIMEON; signed in exergue, © 1970 - E. WEISTROP

The reverse bears Star of David, symbols and names from all twelve medals. In center, THE / TWELVE / TRIBES OF / ISRAEL

Simeon, Jacob's second son, along with his brother Levi, slew the prince of Shechem and destroyed the city in revenge for their sister Dinah's rape or seduction (apparently sources and interpretations differ). They sold their brother Joseph into slavery. As the notes in the collectors edition box quote:

"The descenants of Simeon will many of them be poor men who will wander from tribe to tribe and beg for bread."

This is the second medal in Elizabeth Weistrop's Twelve Tribes of Israel series. The circular medal measures 43mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintages are reported.

References:   MACo 1969-100-010, TToI 2

References:   ANS 8

References:   ANS 16, Baxter 128, Marqusee 77

The medal's obverse bears bearded man kneeling at suffering man's side, supporting him with one hand and holding a cup in the other. Around, ALLEVARE - SEDARE / SANARE

The reverse bears legend, THOS. LEEMING & CO., INC. / 75TH / ANNIVERSARY / 1881 - 1956 / PHARMACEUTICAL SPECIALTIES

References:   MACo 1956-009

The paperweight bears view of Wall Street in New York City; underneath, · 55 · WALL - STREET · 52 ·; at bottom, burning torch flanked by two oval panels connected by streamer; left panel with heraldic imageery surrounded by THE NATIONAL CITY BANK / OF NEW YORK; right panel, view of building subtitled NATIONAL CITY BANK / BUILDING, surrounded by THE NATIONAL CITY COMPANY / NEW YORK; at bottom, MAY 1ST - 1928; signed at right bottom of street scene, KILENYI

The paperweight has two rounded feet on the reverse's top corners. It measures 71.8mm x 100.6mm and was struck in bronze by the Whitehead-Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears imagery from Egyption mythology, goddess Hathor kneeling in center, facing right, flanked by stylized river and tree, heiroglyphic panels, snake and bird.

The reverse bears calendar panel flanked by Sekhmet and Horus. Above wings with year 1991 in oval frame; below, river boat with kneeling figure holding paddle.

Hathor was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god Ra, both of whom were connected with kingship, and thus she was the symbolic mother of their earthly representatives, the pharaohs.

Sekhmet is a warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing. She is depicted as a lioness, the fiercest hunter known to the Egyptians. It was said that her breath formed the desert. She was seen as the protector of the pharaohs and led them in warfare. Sekhmet is also a solar deity, sometimes called the daughter of Ra and often associated with the goddesses Hathor.

Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. The most commonly encountered family relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris, and he plays a key role in the Osiris myth as Osiris's heir and the rival to Set, the murderer of Osiris. In another tradition Hathor is regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife. Horus served many functions, most notably being a god of kingship and the sky.

The circular medal measures 76.1mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Franklin Mint. No mintage is reported.

References:   Cal FM-1991

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Herman Page, Bishop of Michigan. Around, · HERMAN PAGE BISHOP OF MICHIGAN · / 1924 - 1940; signed at right, KILENYI

The reverse bears bishopric seal. Around, AN EXAMPLE OF THE BELIEVERS + IN WORD + IN CONVERSATION + IN CHARITY + IN SPIRIT + IN FAITH + IN PURITY / I TIMOTHY / - IV - 12

The circular medal measures 70mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Robbins Company of Attleboro, Massachusetts. The reported mintage is 500 pieces in bronze.

The medal's obverse bears a winged cherub holding two laurel crowns. At lower right, GLORIA.

The reverse bears a cicada flanked by FA - MA; in lower right Jennewein's distinctive signature, a stylized facial profile, CPJ / 1933 / ©. The border is boldly beaded.

Jennewein contrasts Glory and Fame, two aspects of achievement and recognition, on a medal, which itself is often used as an award. He thus makes a subtle point not just about the distinction between fame and glory but also about the medium itself. In his "Message from the Artist" Jennewein wrote:

"Fame and Glory are symbolized in this medal as the elements in the life of men which the awarding of medals is designed to promote and recognize. But the artist has made a subtle distinction between that Glory which, unsought, belongs to those who aspire, strive and sacrifice for a great ideal, and that Fame which is won by self-seeking in the attainment of public eminence for the gratification of personal power and vanity."

He used the cicada as a symbol for the latter because its "noisy and shrill self-assertion gains wide hearing but is only the discordant demonstration of an obstreperous but insignificant creature." If Jennewein was annoyed by this type of person, I wonder what he would make of much of modern pop culture...

This medal was chosen as the 7th issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. It measures 73mm in diameter. The Medallic Art Company of New York reportedly struck 1,237 pieces in bronze and 125 (out of 700 authorized) in silver.

References:   MACo 1930-001-007, Marqusee 209, SoM 7