Paul Manship

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 obverse bears bust of Hyde facing right. Around top, · JAMES · H · HYDE ·; to left, JUNE 6 / 1876; at bottom, · 1948 ·; signed under truncation, PAUL MANSHIP · SCULP

The reverse bears four heads representing the The Four Continents: Minerva in Grecian helmet, Balinese dancer in crown, American Indian with feathered Mohawk, African head with stacked neck rings inspired by the Ife Bronzes; boldly beaded border around heads.

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

James Hazen Hyde (1876-1959) was at the center of the first great Wall Street scandal when opponents including such notables as J.P. Morgan, E.H. Harriman and Henry Clay Frick tried to remove him from control of The Equitable, the company his father had founded. While the public smear campaign against him was largely based on untruths, it caused him great social troubles. He eventually divested himself of his businesses and left the United States for Paris to focus on other interests.

One of his great passions was history. He assembled what is probably the most comprehensive and diversified collection of decorative art objects, tapestries, prints and drawings tracing the theme of the Allegory of the Four Parts of the World (or the Four Continents) from the mid-sixteenth to the late nineteenth century. While the collection was divided up among several museums, the bulk of it remains in New York and resides at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Historical Society, the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Many thanks to a collector who wishes to remain anonymous for sending me the images.

The medallion measures 89.3mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1948-029

The medal's obverse bears bust of Sidney Licht facing left. Around bottom, · SIDNEY · LICHT ·M·D·

The reverse bears staff of Aeskulap with snake in center field; to its left, four symbols in circles; to its right, ASKLEPIOS in greek letters. Around edge; AMERICAN CONGRESS OF REHABILITATION MEDICINE / 1967 PRESIDENT 1968; around inner edge of beaded center field, EDITOR AND HISTORIAN OF PHYSICAL MEDICINE · HUMANIST · EDUCATOR / INTERNATIONALIST · PHYSICIAN · INNOVATOR

Sidney Licht (1908-1979) was born in New York City and practiced at Mount Sinai Hospital, Sea View Hospital, and Beth Israel Hospital. He discovered his life's passion in rehabilitative medicine when working with the many World War II veteranswho struggled both physically and mentally with reintegration into civilian life. He and his wife Elizabth became key contributors to the young medical specialty of rehabilitative medicine.

He was a long-time member and served as President of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine from 1967 to 1968. The ACRM awards a prize honoring both Sidney Licht and his wife Elizabeth, who was the publisher of the Physical Medicine Library. The Elizabeth and Sidney Licht Award recognizes excellence in scientific writing in rehabilitation medicine. Only articles presenting potentially significant empirical and theoretical contributions to rehabilitation medicine, and demonstrating soundness of methodology and data analysis are considered for the award.

Paul Manship designed this medal before his death in 1966 and did not live to see it issued. The circular medal measures 76.2mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1968-147

The medallion's obverse bears Hermes, the messenger god, bearing a banner inscribed with UNIVERSAL SERVICE; over him, a bell from which lightning emanates. Around centerfield, within intricately patterned border, · AMERICAN · TELEPHONE · AND · TELEGRAPH · CO · AND · ASSOCIATED · COMPANIES ·

The reverse bears, within intricate border, Bell / Advanced / Management / Program / ANTHONY J. RIZZO / Presented by / (signature) / W.S. Cashel Jr. / October 1978

This large medallion is unsigned and somewhat hard to identify. The closest I could get—corresponding nicely with the medallion's style—is to identify the original designer as Paul Manship and the sculptor as Tom Rogers. Dick Johnson lists a 1980's medal modeled by Tom Rogers, based on a 1916 7 foot diameter floor plate designed by Manship and cast by Gorham. Two such plates originally resided in the Western Union Building at 195 Broadway, New York City.  He also references Murtha 75 which describes the floor plates as

"low relief of a male figure carrying a bell which emits flashes of electricity"

This sounds close and together with the corporate connection, the stylistic match, and the absence of other candidates, it sounds like a plausible match. The only mismatch is the 1978 award date, which precedes the 1980's range listed by Johnson by a few years, but small discrepancies in medal dating are not uncommon in reference works.

I have thus tentatively filed this medallion under Manship and Rogers and would love to receive confirmations or rebuttals.

The circular medallion measures 100mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.