SCARCE 55MM ALUMINUM 1893 COLUMBIAN MEDAL WITH WORLD'S TALLEST BUILDING #855

Description

Quite scarce aluminum medal from the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago 1893. The large (50mm) medal is not terribly bright but upon close inspection you can see that it is in surprisingly good condition, AU or borderline uncirculated with very nice detail on the builting. According to the text on the medal, Chicago's Masonic Building was the world's tallest at the time.
Special September World's Fair and Americana Sale & Auction
It will include not only dozens of World's Columbian Expo lots, but rarities from a dozen fairs, including the first-ever world's far (the London Crystal Palace in 1851) and the first US fair that followed in New York just two years later (also called the Crystal Palace). I thought perhaps you could use even more "interesting" information.
Besides both fixed price lots and auction items (we're still cataloging and photographing and have now gone past the 250-lot mark--more than 300 items-- and we're not done yet!) featuring world's fair medals, printed items, tickets and souvenirs, we will also have a terrific collection from the post-Civil War to the 1880s from the Eastman Business College in New York, founded by that same Eastman fellow who brought us Eastman Kodak! Also included are gem US coins and Civil War items.
We're obviously very excited about the breadth of material in the upcoming sale and between now and then we'll be selling some items specifically listed at SALE prices to remind you that the sale is coming. These two medals are part of the more than 800 medals from the John Kennel Collection, which we have been selling for 2 years and are approaching its conclusion. Between the Kennel Collection and our other sales
we have sold in excess of 5,000 Columbian items in just the last 24 months.
My 3rd Book About the Columbian Expo
And since I'm in a mood to share information on History Bank plans, we're also working on the aforementioned 3rd World's Columbian book of mine.
Columbian Rarities
is coming along well and we hope to have copies available by December. It will include the rarest of items from the expo, with photos and information about the items, their historical sales prices and more--medals, tickets, ephemera and other souvenirs. It will be the most comprehensive and first of its kind book to be published about the Columbian Expo. Many of the items included in our September sale will be featured in the book, which includes an article about the ubiquitous Landing Scene images featured on so many Columbian medals.
For more information on our sale--the various fairs and other material to be included as its compiled--and for more details on our book, including ordering information as soon as the specifications are completed--please just ask; get a headstart rather than waiting until we post information. The book will include
200+ color photographs
, in-depth articles and discussions about how rare "rare" is. We expect Columbian collectors to be familiar with some of the items but likely not the details that will be included, and I'm sure that even the most seasoned veterans of Columbian collecting will find a surprisingly large number of unique pieces and others you've never encountered.
In several previous listings about the book (much like this one!) I noted that "I estimate that the John Kennel Collection featured 150+ previously unlisted (in Eglit or HK) medals and tickets (Doolin);"
it has been a truly amazing two years in which we have been representing the Kennel family and both the sale and the book will highlight his immense contributions to knowledge about the 1893 world's fair.
As I continue to work on the book (and the forthcoming sale) I guess I was wrong--I have now noted that Kennel had more like 200 unlisted medals and while I haven't counted, perhaps 35-45 unlisted tickets/passes. It's been truly amazing. To consider that one collection could have 250 unlisted (and for the most part unknown!) items simply floored me when I realized it.
It's difficult to contain my enthusiasm when I'm so involved with the sale and the book and seeing both take shape. My three Columbian books represent years of work and probably even exceed the time spent on our seven-book Civil War series, which remains the largest publishing venture and multi-book series I've written and/or developed over more than 40 years. I hope you're familiar with my two previous Columbian books published in 1993 and 2017. The first remains available in a limited number of hardcovers and is also still in print in softcover 28 years after its debut; the 2017 book (both are from the U of Illinois Press) was the first of its kind dedicated solely to the Midway Plaisance.
For those of you dedicated enough to read this far, I'd like to extend a special discount on my WCE books--hardcover of the first and softcover on the second. Just drop me an email and I'll post a special listing for you on Ebay for either book at only postpaid!
And while you're at it, if you just ask I will send you a coupon worth cash off any purchase you make in our Sept. 1 sale!
Please do keep in touch so we can share updates on both projects and by all means, do take advantage of this special offer on my Columbian books.
Norm Bolotin, The History Bank