Medallic artist and CCAC member Heidi Wastweet has completed a new work for Yale University's Elizabethan Club. The medal, to be given in recognition of extraordinary service to the club, is not available for purchase-which is unfortunate, because it is truly delightful.

Founded in 1911, the Elizabethan Club (affectionately called "the Lizzie") is dedicated to "the appreciation of literature and the arts and of the social intercourse founded upon such appreciation." Tea is an afternoon ritual, and over cups of the club's own blend the conversation flows, often swirling around the collection of rare original manuscripts housed in the club's vault. These include Shakespearean folios, one of the three known 1604 copies of Hamlet, and first editions of books such as Milton's Paradise Lost and Spenser's Faerie Queene. Since its founding more than a century ago, the club has become home to scores of such treasures, along with such items as a lock of Byron's hair and a life portrait of Queen Elizabeth I.

Ms. Wastweet was among several medalists invited to submit designs for the medal, and she visited the club personally to do her research. On her website she writes that she was struck by "the combination of deep history and lighthearted sense of humor." She also noted that, for its own publications, the club uses a clean and contemporary typeface and presentation. "I sought to portray that balance of reverence with jest," she writes, "and old with new":

The recipient of the first medal was Stephen Parks, the club's retired librarian and "dedicated defender of the vault." Himself a collector, Mr. Parks was awarded his silver medal on June 24, 2017. On her Facebook page Ms. Wastweet wrote, "Such a pleasure for me to witness that 'wow' moment when he first sees his medal!"

Struck by the well-known Medallic Art Company, the silver medal is 3 inches in diameter and weighs 10 ounces. In addition to Mr. Parks's medal, an additional 20 copies were struck and set aside for future recipients.

To read the complete article, see:
Artist Heidi Wastweet blends history with whimsy in Elizabethan Club medal(http://news.coinupdate.com/50900-2/)

For more information on Heidi Wastweet's work, see:
http://www.wastweetstudio.com/