Medals Related to War

References:   ANS 31, Baxter 316, MACo 1917-012, Marqusee 201

This medal's obverse bears the Allied arms on shield over American Eagle. Around, DO · RIGHT / AND · FEAR - NO · MAN; on shield, AD - 1916; on wings, COPYRIGHT / SPICER · SIMSON

The reverse bears American shield with stars and sripes framed by two laurel branches; under stars, APRIL · VI · MDCCCCXVII ·. Around, : THAT · GOVERNMENT · BY ·THE · PEOPLE · SHALL · NOT · PERISH; above and below shield, © / T · S · S; under right branch GORHAM CO.

The motto on the obverse is taken from the inscription of George Washington's dress sword. A limited but unknown number of these large medals were offered at a cost of $20 in bronze and $30 in silver. The medal was conceived by the American Fund for French Wounded with the profits supporting relief work for French soldiers and civilians.

The circular medal measures 63.4mm in diameter (74.8mm with loop) and was struck in bronze and silver by the Gorham Company. No mintage is reported.

References:   Baxter 315, Marqusee 362

The medal's obverse bears portrait of Richard Norton, facing right.

The reverse bears legend. In center field, AMERICAN / RED CROSS / AMBULANCE SECTIONS / PRESENTED TO OUR / CHIEF / RICHARD NORTON ESQ / IN TOKEN OF OUR / ESTEEM AND AFFECTION / OCTOBER 1914 / OCTOBER 1917; around, the names of battles in which the unit participated, ALBERT - HEBUTERNE - CHAMPAGNE - VERDUN - CHEMIN DES DAMES

The American Volunteer Motor Ambulance Corps, also known as the Norton-Harjes Ambulance Corps, was an organization started in London, England, in the fall of 1914 by Richard Norton (1872-1918), a noted archeologist and son of Harvard professor Charles Eliot Norton.

Its mission was to assist the movement of wounded Allied troops from the battlefields to hospitals in France during World War I. The Corps began with two cars and four drivers. The service was associated with the British Red Cross and St. John Ambulance.

The "Harjes" part of the name refers to Henry Herman Harjes, a French millionaire banker who wished to help Norton by donating funds and ambulances. When the United States officially joined the war in 1917, the service had thirteen sections of six hundred American volunteer drivers and three hundred ambulances.

For his service, Richard Norton was awarded the Croix de Guerre, the Legion of Honour, and the Order of St. Lazarus. His award of the Cross of the Legion of Honor was the highest award given to any foreigner by France during World War I.

The bronze medal is neither signed nor does it have any mint marks. It is circular and measures 59mm in diameter. No mintage is reported.

The medal's obverse bears American eagle holding arrows and olive branch in its talons forming body of medal over crossed fasces. At top, ball and cartouche inscribed with VALOR

The reverse bears a scroll for dedication and two protruding bearings, unholed.

While similar to the other decoration designs, this one lacks the cannons, probably meaning that it was intended as a valor decoration applying to the entire armed services rather than just the Army.

It is unknown whether Manship created this design for a commission, a design competition, or independently from a sense of patriotic fervor. Manship certainly was a fierce patriot who did what he could to support the war effort. The exact date for this design is also not known but one of the other designs, an Army Valor decoration, has a sample date of 1918 inscribed on the reverse.  They all date roughly to the end of World War I, probably 1918 or 1919.

The cast bronze measures approximately 91.4mm x 92mm and weighs 341.2g.

This massive plaque bears nude child in crucifixion pose with cloth draped over sex and Eagle with spread wings in support. Around top, CHILDREN'S YEAR; across lower left, APRIL 6·1918· / APRIL·6·1919·; signed around lower right, Beach

The Children's Year was a campaign laucnhed by the Children's Bureau to save 100,000 infants who would normally die from childhood diseases. The date was significant because it marked the first anniversary of America's entry into the First World War and this campaign was very much part of the national war effort.  The effort would include the registration of every child born, prenatal care for mothers, regular weighing and examination of babies, and the creation of a bureaucracy at the state and city level to support these measures.

The plaque represents the obverse of a medal, produced by the Medallic Art Company as well, that also commemorated the first Chidlren's Year.

The circular plaque is mounted on a large mahogany board. The galvano cast plaque itself measures 489mm in diameter and was produced by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No numbers are rported, but there can't be many of these.

References:   Baxter 243

The plaquette bears sword-wielding goddess of victory striding left, facing right; behind her, eagle swooping towards left edge where sun is rising. Around top, on scroll, VICTORY; at bottom, ART / WAR / RELIEF

Paul Manship was a fierce patriot and supporter of the Red Cross' humanitarian efforts in Europe. On the U.S. homefront, he was a member of auxiliary 282 of the New York Chapter of the Red Cross, also called "Art War Relief."  That group assisted the war effort by raising funds via the sale of donated art, by creating special patriotic art, and by painting landscape targets for the training of artillery personnel.

Manship's plaquette is a beautiful example of art -deco bas-relief. It usually comes mounted on a black bakelit base and can be found in original bronze or patinated green variants.  It is part of many museum collections world-wide.

The plaquette itself measures 60mm by 76mm and is made of bronze. No mintage is reported.

References:   Baxter 368

The obverse bears bust of Robert P. Perkins in Red Cross uniform, facing left. Around, · ROBERT · P · PERKINS · - · ROMA · MCMXVIII ·

The reverse bears group of mother and three children in center. Around, (cross) AMERICAN (cross) RED (cross) CROSS (cross) IN (cross) ITALY (cross); below, CARITAS; signed above group, · P · M ·

Robert P. Perkins (1862-1924) was president of the Bigelow-Hartford Carpet Company and served as the American Red Cross commissioner in Italy during World War I.

Manship also served in the Red Cross in Italy but nearly died from pneumonia brought on by dreadful weather and a major bout of influenza. He was sent to a hospital in Padua and when he was finally well enough to travel, to Rome, where he stayed at the Grand Hotel, the only one in the city with heat. Manship got to know Perkins while recuperating in Rome.

With this design Manship expressed his gratitude to Perkins and the Red Cross, but also his compassion for the fatherless families left behind in war-torn Europe. The images do not do justice to this medallion's massive presence. The bust rises another 11mm over an already thick base for a total height of 20mm; a typical electronic coin scale will capitulate before the medallion's weight.

This medallion probably represents an early cast of Manship's design and is likely unique. It was most likely cast from his preliminary plaster after he returned to the States. It is larger than the 105mm medallion and differs from that version in legend and signature placement.

The medallion measures 112mm in diameter and was cast in bronze by the artist. It is probably a unique specimen and one of the prize pieces in any collection of 20th Century American Medallic Art.

The obverse bears bust of Kaiser Wilhelm II with necklace of skulls and iron cross; rifle with bayonett to left. Around, THE FOE OF FREE PEOPLES; below, HIS / ROSARY.

The reverse bears German soldier abducting helpless Belgian woman, callously stepping over child on ground. Around, KULTUR IN BELGIUM; below, MURDER PILLAGE.

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

This medal was clearly a response to German artist Karl Goetz' satirical war medals which depicted the allied side in a bad light. Goetz' medals were reviled by the Allies and caused a huge backlash, particularly his infamous Lusitania medal. Artistically, Goetz was on the leading edge of realism while French, British, and American sculptors were still depicting war in terms of carefully crafted Art Nouveau imagery, the horror of war often represented by an angel of death, a weeping widow or a cemetery.

Manship obviously decided that Goetz' medals deserved retaliation in kind. His medal is a true masterpiece of propaganda art, yet it was received with some ambivalence. The June, 1918 issue of the American Magazine of Arts reported:

"In some of the shop windows on Fifth Avenue, New York, is now to be seen a bronze medal designed and executed by Paul Manship representing the outrages perpetrated by the German army upon women and children in invaded territory, particularly in Belgium. This is offered for sale at $10.00 a piece and puts into permanent form those things which if possible should not be remembered, but if remembered not visualized."

The medal measures 66.2mm (2 5/8in) in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   Baxter 365, MACo 1918-005, Murtha 103

The medal's obverse bears American eagle holding arrows and olive branch in its talons on shield over crossed cannon barrels and fasces; large round knob above cartouche with VALOR at top.

The reverse bears a cartouche with ARMY under ball at top and a scroll inscribed with AWARDED TO / JOHN / DOE / 1918.

It is unknown whether Manship created this design for a commission, a design competition, or independently from a sense of patriotic fervor. Manship certainly was a fierce patriot who did what he could to support the war effort.

The sample inscription on the reverse indicates that he created the design in 1918 but he could certainly have used the prior year's number in a later design.

The cast bronze measures approximately 76.8mm x 96.9mm and weighs 273.7g.

The obverse bears line of steel-helmeted doughboys, rifles in hand, with bayonets fixed, about to go over the top. To right, FOR / HUMANITY / 1918.

The reverse bears imaginary portrait of Col. Ephraim Williams, founder of Williams College, on horseback, in the uniform of a Continental Army officer. Around top, E LIBERALITATE E WILLIAMS ARMIGERI 1793; at bottom, THE WILLIAMS MEDAL;

Edge engraved to GOODRICH C. SCHAUFFLER PRIV.

The official description for the medal's reverse is actually a bit incorrect. The medal depicts Williams at Lake George in 1755, so he is in the uniform of a French and Indian War officer, not a Continental officer.

This medal measures 73mm in diameter and was struck in bronze. The college awarded a total of 1726 pieces to Williams men who served in World War I.

References:   Baxter 320, MACo 1918-004, Marqusee 165