William Howard Taft

The plaque bears portrait of William Howard Taft. Above, THE PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY DINNER; to left, FOR / WILLIAM / HOWARD / TAFT / ©; to right, (JF monogram) / JANUARY / XXI / MCM / XI

In 1899, an historian and native Pennsylvanian named James Barr Ferree, who was living in New York City, invited 55 fellow Pennsylvanians living in New York to join him for dinner at The Waldorf Astoria Hotel. While feasting on oysters and Delmonico steaks, they decided to form a group known initially as "The Pennsylvania Society of New York." Their goal was to establish a society "uniting all Pennsylvanians at home and away from home in bonds of friendship and devotion to their native or adopted state."

The following year, a visiting British journalist and Member of Parliament dropped in and entertained the diners with his stories. His name was Winston Churchill and thus began the tradition of inviting a guest speaker to the dinner.

In 1911, the 27th President of the Unites States, William Howard Taft, was the guest speaker. At the time of the dinner, Taft was halfway through his tenure as President.

The plaque measures 104mm in diameter. The design for this plaque was used for the souvenir ice-cream boxes that were distributed at the Twelfth Annual Dinner of the Society. The cast bronze plaques, mounted on an oak board, were offered to subscribers at $7.00 per copy.

This medal's obverse bears three draped allegorical female figures, the rightmost holding a mask. On left and right of figures, ACTORS' - FUND / JUNE 8 1882; signed at lower right, BEACH

The medal's reverse bears the traditional masks of tragedy and comedy. Incuse around top, ACTORS' FUND OF AMERICA; dated and inscribed to recipient at bottom, AUGUST 6, 1964 / FLOYD W. STOKER

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

The Actors' Fund Medal was inaugurated on May 9, 1910 when it was first presented to President William Howard Taft. The award was revived in 1958, and since 1992, when Shubert Organization President Bernard B. Jacobs was recognized, the award has been presented at an annual fundraising gala in New York City. Since then, leading actors and organizations have been recognized with this high honor which is awarded to individuals and organizations that enrich the entertainment community.

In 1964 the award went to three recipients: Angus Duncan, Zero Mostel and Floyd W. Stoker. This particular medal was awarded to Floyd W. Stoker.

The original medal bore the legend NEW YORK / 1910 on the obverse. It was only awarded once in 1910 and then never again. There has been some controversy whether the original medal was co-issued with the American Numismatic Society because a tiny ANS seal can be found on the medal's obverse. However, there is no documentation that supports that this medal was an ANS issue.

The medal measures 70mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.