Prizes, Medals and Honourable Mentions

Abstract

Abstract 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.