Excerpt from The Lincoln Centennial

We thus see that the medal may be regarded from a two-fold point of view, - as a work of art and as a bistori cal document. It is in this latter aspect, mainly, that we must View the present collection. The medals of Lincoln will not appeal to the art-lover as such, for the reason that medallic art in this country during and after the Civil War was at a low grade. Nor need we feel any humiliation therein. It was the Storm and Stress period of our national existence. The very maintenance of the Union was at stake, and men's thoughts were turned to more serious considerations than ideals ofbeauty expressed in terms of form. Even had there been great artists among us, their genius would not have been called into activity. This was true, also, of the period of reconstruction that followed. The artistic sense of a nation is slow to find expression, and it is only in recent years that artistic ideals have begun to assert themselves strongly in America. This Lincoln Cen tennial, besides being a spontaneous manifestation of the nation's reverence for its Hero and Martyr, has done great service to the cause ofmedallic art in this country, in inspiring two medals [n 05. 1 and 6] Of Abraham Lincoln, the work of the sculptor Jules Edouard Roine of Paris; which for mastery of technique and perfection of portraiture and design command the highest admit ation. In these at last we find artist and die-cutter reunited; and the noble features of Lincoln, so long distorted by the incompetent hands of secondary artisans, are here placed before us in all their realism, yet with such a masterly conception of the living man, that the greatness of mind of this Master of Men, the benevolence of the lover Of his kind, the delicate humor of his nature, speak forth from the cold metal. They should serve as models for the medallist of the future.

If art is absent in most of the specimens here shown, there is historical value in every piece. And the tragic end of Lincoln adds a pathetic interest to many. It should be noted that a considerable number of them are not medals at all, but campaign tokens, tradesmen'scards, metallic badges and the like. Yet even the most insignificant of these is not lacking in interest to the patriot and the student of history. It is very remark able, too, that not less than seven hundred pieces are known which either bear Lincoln's head or refer directly or indirectly to him; and of these the present collection contains the large majority, including all the more interesting types, 'many of which are shown in several metals. As far as the present writer is aware, no one man in public life except Napoleon has such a medallic record to his credit.

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