Vassar medal
Newark, New Jersey
1915
Maker
Probably Whitehead & Hoag Co. (1892-1959)
Measurements
3 in x1-5/8 in x 1/4 in
Materials
Silver, silk, white metal alloy, paper
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.
Accession Number
2018.164
Inscription
“M. C. Warner “ in ink and “Oct 1916 / Special – 1866-8” also in different ink are written on paper in a framed holder. “VASSAR COLLEGE / MDCCCLXV” is cast into the medal. The reverse has "1865 1915 / 50TH ANNIVERSARY / OF THE OPENING OF VASSAR COLLEGE / OCTOBER 10-13” cast into it, along with “W & H CO.”
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner
Comments
The medal shows a young woman holding books in her left arm with a temple atop a hill in the distance. The medal is suspended from a name bracket or holder by a piece of red silk.
The medal recognizes the 50th anniversary of the founding of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1865. Mary Corbit Warner, whose name is in the label holder, entered Vassar in 1866, the date added above her name. Evidence of her graduation has not yet come to light.
The “W & H CO” maker's mark is difficult to identify with certainty. Wightman & Hough Co. (1856-1922) of Providence, Rhode Island, made sterling and gold-filled lockets and other costume jewelry. Whitehead & Hoag was a prominent manufacturer of buttons, badges, pins, and advertising novelties. Their closer proximity and product line suggest they made the Vassar medal.
