Ever since antiquity, medals that were often also remarkable works of art were used to mark the achievements and testify to the glory of a person or his bravery on the battlefield, or to celebrate or commemorate a particular event. Sovereigns and nobles wore medals as symbols of their power, wealth and achievements or distributed them as exceptional gifts in order to maintain or garner support. In the 19th century the use of medals increased dramatically. In fact, with the machine age a new class of heroes was born. These were the engineers, the technicians and the manufacturers who were industrializing the Western world. And these pioneers of technological progress became the new recipients of a tide of medals, diplomas and awards which were primarily distributed at the national, international and universal exhibitions and fairs which abounded during the last decades of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th centuries. This essay will focus on instrument makers, whose activities bridged science and industry. Their products represented the high technology of their day in the sector of precision instruments, and the most outstanding ones, judged to be deserving of an award, were selected following examination by a jury composed of specialists. But what were the criteria adopted by the jurors? Did political considerations influence their judgments? What were the importance and the significance of these awards? Did they have an impact on the instrument maker’s trade or were they just attractive souvenirs to be taken home from the exhibitions? Based on an analysis of many documents (reports, lists of medallists, catalogues, specialized articles, etc.) relating to industrial exhibitions held in Europe and the United States during the 19th century, the present essay provides an answer to these questions.
...MoreArticle Marco Beretta; Ulf Larsson (2019) Prizes and Awards in Science before Nobel: Introduction. Nuncius: Annali di Storia della Scienza (pp. 215-217).
Book
Anthony S. Travis;
(2018)
Nitrogen Capture: The Growth of an International Industry
(/isis/citation/CBB376496330/)
Article
Burrell, Carolyn;
(2005/2006)
Die Chicago-Gruppe: Globenmacher des 20. Jahrhunderts in Chicago und Umgebung
(/isis/citation/CBB001024621/)
Book
Carlson, W. Bernard;
(2013)
Tesla: Inventor of the Electrical Age
(/isis/citation/CBB001201095/)
Article
McEathron, Scott R.;
(2005/2006)
A. H. Andrews & Co.: Ein früher Globenmacher in Chicago
(/isis/citation/CBB001024620/)
Article
Garland E. Allen;
(2017)
Mendelism and the Promise of A New Agriculture, 1900-1945
(/isis/citation/CBB500275953/)
Article
Kauffman, George B.;
(2001)
Charles Goodyear (1800--1860), American Inventor, on the Bicentennial of His Birth
(/isis/citation/CBB001252523/)
Article
Douglas J. Lanska;
(2019)
The Development and Evolution of “Cerebral Thermometry”: The Physiology Underlying a Nineteenth-Century Approach to Cerebral Localization and Neurological Diagnosis
(/isis/citation/CBB416833074/)
Chapter
Heßler, Martina;
(2008)
Science in the City: European Traditions and American Models
(/isis/citation/CBB000820100/)
Article
Liba Taub;
(2019)
Celebrating Science in Ancient Greece and Rome
(/isis/citation/CBB549443971/)
Book
Elena Canadelli;
Marco Beretta;
Laura Ronzon;
(2019)
Behind the Exhibit: Displaying Science and Technology at World's Fairs and Museums in the Twentieth Century
(/isis/citation/CBB534895435/)
Book
Edwards, Anthony David;
(2008)
The Role of International Exhibitions in Britain, 1850--1910: Perceptions of Economic Decline and the Technical Education Issue
(/isis/citation/CBB000952095/)
Book
Giorgio Dell'Oro;
(2021)
Mondi di carta. Materie prime, usi e commerci in età moderna (XVI-XIX secc.)
(/isis/citation/CBB940967542/)
Thesis
Medeiros, Aimee;
(2012)
Heightened Expectations: The History of the Human Growth Hormone Industry in America
(/isis/citation/CBB001562805/)
Book
Knowles, Anne Kelly;
(2013)
Mastering Iron: The Struggle to Modernize an American Industry, 1800--1868
(/isis/citation/CBB001320950/)
Book
Fox, Robert;
Guagnini, Anna;
(1999)
Laboratories, Workshops, and Sites: Concepts and Practices of Research in Industrial Europe, 1800-1914
(/isis/citation/CBB000111691/)
Chapter
Pursell, Carroll W.;
(1972)
Science and Industry
(/isis/citation/CBB001180235/)
Book
Joris Mercelis;
(2020)
Beyond Bakelite: Leo Baekeland and the Business of Science and Invention
(/isis/citation/CBB912550580/)
Article
Thomson, Ross;
(2011)
Did the Telegraph Lead Electrification? Industry and Science in American Innovation
(/isis/citation/CBB001211697/)
Book
Hirt, Paul W.;
(2012)
The Wired Northwest: The History of Electric Power, 1870s--1970s
(/isis/citation/CBB001201248/)
Article
Prete, Ivano Dal;
(2014)
Brokering Instruments in Napoleon's Europe: The Italian Journeys of Franz Xaver von Zach (1807--1814)
(/isis/citation/CBB001320985/)
Be the first to comment!