Dave Ellison writes:

The rest of the story for : Jon Radel writes:

Right: Bronze Plaque (Magyar emlekveretek plakettek)by the Hungarian artist, Beran Lajos (1882 - 1943)

The rest of the story for : This four and a half inch (11 centimeters) diameterterracotta, high relief roundel of Benjamin Franklin with legend: and 1777date was the work of Giovanni Baptista Nini (1717 - 1786), who was an Italian sculptor working in Paris.This image of Franklin in rugged frontiersman fur cap was used on medallions and snuff boxes popular inFrance during the American Revolution. This simple image appealed to the French people which servedto embody the rugged American spirit of Franklin as a 'natural man' who was only being practical whenhe stepped off the boat from America wearing a fur cap to keep his bald head warm. Ben soon sent formore fur caps to wear throughout his stay in Paris which set him apart from the overly fancy Frenchstyles of couturiers to the Court of Versailles.

The rest of the story for : Jon Radel writes that he didn't bring it, yet he remarksthat the Swedish government was a great proponent of horse breeding, specifically to ensure a supply ofsuitable horses for cavalry use, and as such sponsored this as a prize medal. The medal pictured is byJohan Adolf Lindberg (1839-1916), or more commonly Adolf Lindberg, who has signed this particular medal as "A. Lindberg." Lindberg ran his own studio in Sweden starting in 1864, though it was a numberof years before he started producing medals. In late 1897 he was appointed to engraver at the royalmint, after the death of Lea Ahlborn, and as such engraved all official medals.

See [J Adolf Lindberg,https://sok.riksarkivet.se/sbl/artikel/10414, Swedish biographical lexicon (art by Ulla Ehrensvärd),retrieved 2022-10-20] for a biography. The medal itself, and the very similar earlier medals by LeaAhlborn, not to mention later medals with the bust of Gustav V, are relatively common. I foundexamples of several varieties for sale on eBay, though they largely aren't nearly as nicely toned as theexample we saw at dinner.

The rest of the story for : This large (14.5 x 18.8 cm) bronze plaque of HenryWadsworth Longfellow, dated 1911, was made for the Grolier Club by John Flanagan who would go onto create the Washington Quarter design used from 1932 to 1998. The Grolier Club was founded in1884 as a society of bibliophiles, antiquarians, and graphic artists in America. The Grolier Club promotesthe study, collecting, and appreciation of fine books and works on paper.

The rest of the story for : This is an 1893 bronze, Chicago World's Fair medal for (Highest point 264 feet). George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., a 33-year-old engineerfrom Pittsburgh, came up with the idea for his famous wheel after Daniel Burnham, the eminentarchitect charged with turning a boggy square mile of Chicago into a world-dazzling showpiece,assembled an all-star team of designers and gave them one directive:

But Ferris had not only been challenged to think big; the huge attendance expected at the fair inspiredhim to bet big. He spent $25,000 of his own money on safety studies, hired more engineers, andrecruited investors. On December 16, 1892, his wheel was chosen to answer Eiffel's tower at the 1889Paris Exposition. It measured 250 feet in diameter, and carried 36 cars, each capable of holding 60people.

More than 100,000 parts went into Ferris' wheel, notably an 89,320-pound axle that had to be hoistedonto two towers 140 feet in the air. Launched on June 21, 1893, it was a glorious success. Over the next19 weeks, more than 1.4 million people paid 50 cents for a 20-minute ride and access to an aerialpanorama few had ever beheld. wrote a reporter named RobertGraves,

But when the fair gates closed, Ferris became immersed in a tangle of wheel-related lawsuits aboutdebts he owed suppliers and that the fair owed him. In 1896, bankrupt and suffering from typhoidfever, he died at age 37. A wrecking company bought the wheel and sold it to the 1904 LouisianaPurchase Exposition in St. Louis. Two years later, it was dynamited into scrap.

Steve Bishop writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
TOM KAYS NUMISMATIC DIARY: OCTOBER 23, 2022(https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n43a26.html)