Medals relating to Architecture

This medal's obverse bears portrait of Avery facing left. Around, · PRESENTED · TO · SAMVEL · PVTNAM · AVERY · BY · HIS · FRIENDS · AND · THE · ARCHITECTS · OF · NEW · YORK; signed over shoulder at right, V D BRENNER / 1914

The reverse bears view of building facade framed by trees and shrubs. Above, THE AVERY LIBRARY; below, framed by two wreaths, · FOVNDED · BY · / · SAMVEL · PVTNAM · AVERY · / · AND · MARY · OGDEN · AVERY · / · 1890 · / · COMPLETED · BY · / · SAMVEL · PVTNAM · AVERY · / · THEIR · SON · / · 1912 ·

The edge is marked TIFFANY & CO. FINE SILVER

The Avery Library is named for Henry Ogden Avery, one of late nineteenth century New York's promising young architects and a friend of William Robert Ware, who founded the Department of Architecture at Columbia in 1881. A few weeks after Avery's premature death in 1890, his parents, Samuel Putnam Avery and Mary Ogden Avery, established the library as a memorial to their son. They offered 2,000 of his books, mostly in architecture, archaeology, and the decorative arts, many of his original drawings, funds to round out the book collection, and an endowment to assure the continuous growth of the library.

The medal measures 64mm in diameter and was struck in silver by Tiffany & Company of New York City.

References:   Baxter 141

The plaque bears Evarts Tracy seated in relaxed pose, l., holding cigarette or pen in one hand.  At left top, EVARTS - TRACY / APRIL - TENTH / MCMXII; signed at bottom right, (HH monogram) / FECIT

Evarts Tracy (1868-1922) was a renowned New York architect who also distinguished himself in World War I.  After commanding a regiment of combat engineers and getting wounded, he was put in charge of camouflage training at the Army Engineer School at Langres. At the end of the war he was in charge of all camouflage sections of the majority of the Allies' western front.  General Pershing recommended him for the Distinguished Service Medal, which he was awarded shortly before his death in 1922.

The relief plaque measures 176mm x 132mm. It is not known how many copies exist.

References:   Baxter 228

References:   Baxter 304, MACo 1914-011, Marqusee 338

The medallion's obverse bears bust of Charles Platt facing left. Around, · CHARLES · PLATT · ARCHITECT · MCMXVIII ·

The reverse bears nude unwinged putto resting one foot on a corner of little temple's roof while measuring it with calipers; streamer bearing LABORE - ET - CONSTANTIA held in other hand; signed in exergue, Paul Manship / Rome

Charles Adams Platt (1861-1933) designed many museum buildings, including the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer Gallery of Art, which was commissioned in 1913 and opened to the public ten years later. Both Platt and Manship were participants in the famous artists’ colony at Cornish, New Hampshire.

The classical tempietto (little temple) and calipers on the reverse symbolize Platt's profession as an architect. The Latin motto translates roughly to "toil and fidelity" and appears on the coats of arms of many European families.

The circular medallion measures 96mm in diameter and was cast in bronze.  No mintage is reported.

The octagonal medal's obverse bears bearded male figure rendered in Assyrian style holding scepters or staffs in each hand, seated on ornamented chair, facing right. To his right, arranged in rhombic
shape, (kuneiform) / Α Ρ / Χ Α Ι / Ο Λ Ο / Γ Ι Α / (kuneiform); signed in half circle under bottom kuneiform, A LAESSLE ∙; all surrounded by ornamental border combining Greek, Egyptian, and Assyrianstyles; all bordered by raised rim.

The reverse bears two stylized branches flanking legend, THE / UNIVERSITY ∙ OF / PENNSYLVANIA /
FOR MERIT IN ARCHI / TECTURAL ORNAMENT / 1938 / BRYDEN BORDLEY HYDE

Bryden Bordley Hyde (1914-2001) was a Baltimore architect who became well-known for his efforts in preservation. In 1961 he took apart his family's 22-room, mid-19th-century home, Evesham, and moved it from Govans to Gibson Island. When demolition threatened a Bladensburg mansion built in 1749 and once owned by Dr. David Ross, a surgeon in George Washington's army, Hyde helped dismantle it and rebuild it in Cockeysville. He stuck the 22,000 original bricks back together with mortar made with a historically accurate additive: oyster shells. Both projects brought him awards from the Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

He fought in World War II as a captain in the 8th Armored Division and was an avid collector of antiques, a hobby he managed to pursue, according to family lore, even under enemy shelling.

Albert Laessle created a little gem with this medal.  He married the medal's design perfectly to its purpose. While no mintage is reported, the bronze variant seems to be pretty rare. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is in posession of a silver variant that came from Albert Laessle's family and is probably even rarer.

The octagonal medal measures approximately 51mm x 51mm and was struck in bronze and silver by Jos. K. Davison of Philadelphia.

Many thanks to Peter James Fowler who took the beautiful images of the bronze medal. He runs two eBay stores at jamcupboard and woodenships7.

The medal's obverse bears male figure at right, seated on bench, chin resting on his hand, looking pensively at city's skyline to his left; painter's tools at his feet. Around top right, ARCHITECV-RAL; in exergue, · LEAGUE · ; on bench, N.Y.

The reverse bears female figure, r., holding victor's laurels in outstretched hand and palm fronds in other. Signed at bottom right, H.A. MacNeil / FECIT

The circular medal was struck by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   Baxter 351, MACo 1920-012

The medallion's obverse bears portrait of Welles Bosworth facing left. Around, · WELLES · BOSWORTH · ARCHITECT · MCMXX · ; signed on truncation, · PAUL MANSHIP ·

The reverse bears kneeling, nude, winged female figure holding a column. To her right, running vertically, ΕΥΦΡΟΣΥΗ

William Welles Bosworth (1869-1966) was an American architect whose most famous designs include MIT's Cambridge campus, the AT&T Building in New York City, and the Theodore N. Vail mansion in Morristown, New Jersey.  Bosworth gave Manship his first big breaks after the artist had returned from the American Academy in Rome in 1912, chief among them a contract for much of the high profile decorative work for the AT&T building in New York City. 

The Greek letters on the reverse spell the name of one of the "Three Graces," namely "Euphrosyne."  In Greek mythology the Graces were thought to have been brought into the world to fill it with pleasant moments and good will. Euphrosyne is most closely associated with grace and beauty.

With this medallion Manship paid hommage to one of his big benefactors, something he did quite frequently early in his career.

The circular medallion measures 92.4mm in diameter and was cast in bronze. The number of pieces that were made is not known.

References:   Baxter 367, Murtha 125

The medal's obverse bears female figure r., seated on ionic capital, holding model of building in outstretched hands; greek temple in background.  Around top, · ALPHA - RHO · CHI · ; signed at right bottom, GAGE

The medal's reverse bears inscription field atop pillar, nine stars above. OVer pillar, LEADERSHIP / SERVICE / MERIT; inscribed to HENRY VANNIER SHRIVER / 1952 / V.P.I.

Alpha Rho Chi is a professional co-educational college fraternity for students studying architecture and related professions. The fraternity's name is derived from the first three letters of the Greek word for architecture, αρχιτεκτονική. It was founded through the merger of two fraternities from the state universities of Michigan and Illinois.

The octagonal medal measures 50mm x 50.5mm and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.  No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1931-018

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