Historical and
Commemorative Medals
Collection of Benjamin Weiss
1876 CENTENNIAL- MACHINERY HALL
Ornamental Wood Company: USA, 1876, Wood, 68 x101 mm This is one of a set of several wooden medals issued on the site of the
International Centennial Exhibition at Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. The set
consisted of various buildings and other scenes and portraits, including one
of George Washington. These wooden medals were made by pressing the design onto
black walnut discs which had been softened by soaking in water. The pressing
was in a device that applied heat as well as pressure. They were
manufactured by the Ornamental Wood Company, Philadelphia, and were made at
the exhibit in Machinery Hall, where they could be purchased as a souvenir of the
visit. The wooden medals were sold in
decorative cardboard boxes at the Centennial Exposition in that city. A set
of six of these medals was originally in a fitted card case, with the
interior lid printed with a birds eye view of the exhibition buildings. LINK to Philadelphia's Fairmount Park LINK to text of Declaration of Independence (from Indiana University School of Law) LINK to the American Revolution (from The History Place) |