Need help identifying

[crayve]

Hi folks,

I found this item a few years ago in Rochester, NY. I have had email contact with the archivist with the Prospect Park Alliance, and also the director of arts and antiquities at New York City Parks department. So far, no one has any information on what appears to be a commemorative replica of that monument. I'm hoping someone here has run across one of these before.

The front shows Lafayette in front of his horse as shown in this link.
http://www.bridgeandtunnelclub.com/bigmap/brooklyn/prospectpark/lafayette/index.htm

The back says (as near as I can read)
Memorial to Lafayette
Unveiled at Brooklyn
May 10, 1917
(here's where I lose some of the wording)
Marshall Joffre and M. Vivian
War Commissioner of France
to the
United States

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Upgraded Night Vision Monocular Digital Infrared Monocular Telescope for 100% Darkness with 8X Zoom - Grab it through Amazon!

[DCMatt]

Try this from the Prospect Park web site for starters:

The Lafayette Monument at the Ninth Street/Prospect Park West entrance is another historic sculpture that anchors the Park. It honors the Marquis de Lafayette, a French soldier who assisted American forces in the Revolutionary War. Dedicated on May 10, 1917, it was designed by Daniel Chester French and sculpted by Augustus Lukeman, with a base and platform designed by architect Henry Bacon, who also brought gas lighting to the Park in his design of the Park's original cast-iron lampposts. Although none of the fixtures survived, the design was replicated in some of the electric lampposts that were later built.

It was not uncommon, back then, to crank out keep sakes for events like monument dedications, or reunions, or Boy Scout camp, or political things...

What,exactly, do you want to know about it?

DCMatt

 

[DCMatt]

The missing line under the date says:

BY

Memorial to Lafayette
Unveiled at Brooklyn
May 10, 1917
BY (here's where I lose some of the wording)
Marshall Joffre and M. Vivian
War Commissioner of France
to the
United States

DCMatt

 

[crayve]

Thanks for the reply. I found out about the ceremony itself from the Prospect Park webpage and even went to the library while on a visit to NYC. I figured since I found one, that they were probably given out during the ceremony, but I didn't realize that it was commonplace. What I'm interested in knowing, is it's rarity. I've spent alot of time doing Goole searches and what not and have not found anything about the medallion itself. Usually you can find things if you search long enough. It's a pretty interesting find, I think. I had expected that the historian at NYC Parks would know something about it if they were mass produced. I dug it out of a few inches of dirt in the corner of my backyard. Anyway, thanks for the reply.

 

[DCMatt]

As to the rarity, it's a safe bet that yours is the only one known to exist.

They probably made about 100 up to 1000, paid for by the War Commissioner's office (his name on it) and gave them out to whomever was there. But think about it - How many NYers are going to show up at a memorial dedication for a guy who has already been dead for nearly 100 years? I'd say they probably had tokens left over that were dumped or sent back to be melted down for the next batch of tokens.

The BIGGER question for ME is: Who dropped it in your backyard and how did THEY get it?

Keep digging!

DCMatt

 

[crayve]

That is a good question! Aside from an outside storage area, I can't really think of a reason why it should be there. Maybe the kids were playing with it and left it in the yard one day. I rent the place..I should probably ask how old the home is. I can tell by the construction that it is at least 50 years old. if I find anything else out..I'll post back here..thanks for your help!