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 Replies: 7 / Views: 1,495 |
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Valued Member
Russia
190 Posts |
While waiting for an answer on the author of the Duncan medal, I'll ask about one more. There is such a medal in the collection. Not much information. Author unknown. Year of manufacture unknown. Mintage unknown. It's called Robbins Company Storecard. D = 79.3 mm. Manufacturer: Robbins Company.   I have roughly figured out the year of creation. There are catalogs for this company. One of them is dated 1928 and has a similar image on the flyleaf.  There is an interesting continuation... It is also unclear in what year the Utopian Club Medal appeared. The manufacturer is the same - this can be seen from the reverse. It was made in bronze and so-called. silvered bronze, with a diameter of 50 mm and less.   The obverse features an allusion to the god Vulcan making the shield of Aeneas. An interesting detail is noted - the Phrygian cap as a symbol of freedom. On the shield you can make out two inscriptions - CELLINI and LALIQUE. Two famous jewelry companies.  The author's signature is a combination of two letters. Exactly J and either H, or a peculiar K. And this version has the signature of the author. Any guesses who? I would like to see J and K - Julio Kilenyi. But I can say for sure that I have never seen such a signature from Kilenyi. Here are Kilenyi's signatures on medals from my collection.  *** Edited by Staff to clarify topic title. Please put as much info in the title as you can, they are very important. *** |
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Moderator
 United States
34506 Posts |
A really fascinating token @whc--thx for posting. Southeast Massachusetts and down into Providence Rhode Island was the epicenter of the US jewelry industry for many years and the Robbins Company seems to be one part of this. I'm not very knowledgeable about medals and the sculptors who create these amazing designs, but I may have a little light to shed on your question of whether it was Kilenyi who was sculptor for this specific medal. In looking at the medallicartcollector website, it is clear that Kilenyi did work for Robbins, but seemingly a little later in his career. The first Kilenyi medal that was produced by Robbins that I can find was dated 1936, but it wasn't until a year later that a signed Kilenyi medal was produced by Robbins. It seems your medal predates this collaboration. Moreover, all of the signed Kilenyi medals that I can find have his full last name as the signature, but clearly you have a few with just his initials. In no case can I find a token attributed to Kilenyi that has this "JK" monogram. Here are a couple links that may be of some interest: https://medallicartcollector.com/ju..._medals.htmlhttps://medallicartcollector.com/robbins-co.shtml"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Valued Member
 Russia
190 Posts |
Thank you. Yes, I know Alex's website. I understand the difficulties with dating Kilenyi's time working for The Robbins Co.
I would like to know the time of creation Utopian Club Medal?
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Moderator
United States
34506 Posts |
Yes of course--you know way more about these than I do!
However, I think that we can at least bracket the timing of this medal a bit. According to that website, the predecessor to this company (the Chas M. Robbins Company) was renamed to The Robbins Company in 1912. As you have a marketing pamphlet from 1928 with the correct image, then it seems plausible to date the design to between 1912 and 1928. Beyond that, I don't think that I can be of more help. Hopefully someone else among our CCF community who knows more can weigh in with more information.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Moderator
United States
192314 Posts |
Very interesting!  |
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New Member
United States
1 Posts |
Hello, WHC. As the Early American Industries Association's 2026 Carter Fellow, I am writing an article on the history of Robbins Company. Would you mind if I used the images of the Robbins Co "with compliments" coin in the EAIA Chronicle?
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Moderator
United States
34506 Posts |
@wfhr, first welcome to CCF. Second, it looks to me like it has been nine months or so since @whc last signed in to this website. I'm not sure how often they check in, but you might try dm-ing them instead.
"If you climb a good tree, you get a push."
-----Ghanaian proverb
"The danger we all now face is distinguishing between what is authentic and what is performed."
-----King Adz
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Valued Member
Russia
190 Posts |
If my images look better than those online, of course.
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Replies: 7 / Views: 1,495 |
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Posted 04/16/2024 02:44 am
