Historical and
Commemorative Medals
Collection of Benjamin Weiss
CENTENARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE Ornamental Wood Company: USA, 1876 , Wood, 62 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) |
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