All Medals

The medal's obverse bears male and female nudes stretching towards the sky, winged Pegasus rearing at left. Below, signature G. CECERE / © 1933.

The reverse bears twin peaks with a small tree growing at their feet with stars above. Above, concentric two-line legend, THERE IS NO EASY WAY FROM THE / EARTH TO THE STARS.

It was created in the middle of the Great Depression and, in Cecere's own words, symbolizes

"the age-old inner urge of a large portion of humanity - its never-ceasing struggle to free from the bondage of the sordid and material, its aspiration toward a higher place of existence."

He dedicated his medal to "those who are fighting adversities while maintaining a vision of a higher goal."

This medal was chosen as the eighth issue of the prestigious Society of Medalists series. It measures 73mm in diameter and had a reported production of 1,287 in bronze and 125 in silver.

References:   MACo 1930-001-008, Marqusee 107, SoM 8

The medal's obverse bears perspective view of IBM typewriters through the decades. Across, 1933- / 1983 / (IBM logo)

The reverse bears legend, 50 Years of / Typewriter / Excellence

It is probably hard for today's generation to understand how big a business typewriters used to be.  Today, we have general purpose laptops, voice transcription is tantalizingly close for everyday life, and laser printers are an affordable item for most American families.

Before computers, typewriters were at the heart of most business operations and many families owned a private typewriter as well.  IBM was a big player in this market and became dominant when they merged electronics with typewriters.  Before electrical typewriters, each keystroke mechanically translated into a stamp hitting an inkstrip onto the paper.  How hard you hit the key defined how solid the letter's imprint was.  You could also jam a typewriter by hitting two keys simultaneously.  Electric typewriters revolutionized typing by using the keystrokes only as signals for the machine to do do the rest.

Hard to believe how much the world has changed since then...

The circular medal measures 76.2mm in diameter and was struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of Danbury, Connecticut. No mintage is reported.

The obverse bears bust of shepherd dog facing right. Over nose on right, FOUNDED / 1913; around, SHEPHERD-DOG-CLUB / OF-AMERICA; signed over shoulder at right, KILENYI.

The reverse bears idyllic image of sheep pasture with guarding shepherd dog at left and sun on horizon.

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

The German Shepherd Dog Club of America was founded in 1913 and incorporated in 1916 by Anne Tracy, Margaret C. Throop, Edith May Schley, Vemon Castle, John Volkman, Paul Huhn, & B.R. Ruggles. Like all breed-specific clubs, its mission was to define the breed, participate in shows, and interest the public.

The medal measures 50mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

References:   MACo 1925-040-01

The galvano's obverse bears bust of the owner of Medallic Art Company, Clyde C. Trees, facing left; to his right, medal press in a circle. Above, · CLYDE · C · TREES ·; signed and dated at lower left, (JSR monogram) / 1940

In the late 1930's, John Curlee Trees, the owner of Medallic Art Company, engaged John R. Sinnock, then working as engraver at the U.S. Mint, to design five portrait medals of MACo's Board of Directors. Medallic Art Company usually created at least one large galvano for each medal they produced. This plaque comes from the family of one of the Directors. Whether all Directors received one or whether this is a unique piece is hard to establish but I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who has another one or can provide additional information.

The galvano plaque measures approximately 305mm (12") in diameter and was produced by the Medallic Art Company of New York.

The dagger-shaped medal's obverse bears portrait of Martha Graham, facing left on a round overlay. Signed at bottom of hilt, LEONDA FINKE

The reverse bears nude female figure with dagger raised above her head, in dance pose, one leg raised high along the edge of the medal.

Martha Graham (1894-1991) was a world-famous American dancer and choreographer. Her modern reinterpretation of the tale of Agamemnon and Clytemenestra premiered in 1958 and gained rave reviews. It was so successful that it even had a limited run on Broadway.

The medal measures 97mm x 102mm and was cast in bronze in a limited edition. 

The uniface medal's obverse bears art deco style hand holding a chemical flask in front of plinth with winged steed. To left and around, 30 / YEAR OF - FRIENDLY RELATIONS; at lower right, GOOD (winged foot logo) YEAR / A LEADER IN / RESEARCH; signed at bottom right, (RC monogram)

This is the 30 year version of Rene Chambellan's Goodyear series of medallions. All of these medallions came mounted to a wooden board to be hung in offices or shops that were selling Goodyear product. The design of this medal borrows heavily from another medal Chambellan designed in the same year. That medal was a generic Arts award medal that did not include the chemical vessels but shared the basic design with this medal.

The circular medal measures 108mm and is struck in bronze by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.

References:   MACo 1948-041-005

References:   CoF 7

The paperweight bears view of Statue of Liberty with cloudy sky. In exergue, GENERAL / SILK IMPORTING / CO. INC. / NEW YORK

The General Silk Importing Company was founded in 1916 when the Klots Throwing Company, a large processor of raw silk, bough the silk importing house Villa Stearns. That company's executive, J. H. Britton, became vide president at Klots and Villa Stearns was renamed to General Silk Importing Company.  After further growth, declining profits and the Great Depression forced the company into bankrupcy in 1932.

The paperweight has two round feet at the upper end and measures 71.2mm x 127.4mm. It was struck in bronze by the Whitehead & Hoag Company of Newark, New Jersey. No mintage is reported.

The medallion bears portrait of Betty Holter facing left. Around top, · BETTY · HOLTER · ; signed and dated under truncation, · P · M · 1919 ·

It is not entirely certain who the subject for this medal was.  The mostl ikely candidate is Betty Holter, who wrote for The English Weekly and corresponded with the Bloomsbury group of English artists and writers during the years between World War I and II.

The circular medallion measures 102.4mm in diameter and was cast in bronze. It is not known how many pieces were produced.

References:   Murtha 119