ADAMS, GEORGE GAMMON (Brit.). British Sculptor and Medallist, born at Staines, on the 21st of April 1821 ; died at his residence, Acton Green Lodge, Chiswick, on the 4th of March 1898, aged 76 years, and was buried in the family vault in Staines Cemetery. He was educated at Kepler House School, and at sixteen, was articled by his father to William Wyon, R. A. in the Royal Mint, where he remained for 4 1/2 years, and was employed upon the early coinage of Queen Victoria. It was Adams who cut the proof Half crown after a miniature by Sir William Ross. He was at the same time a student of the Royal Academy, where he obtained several minor prizes for sculpture, and the gold medal for an historical composition in sculpture, the- subject of his work being a group of the Massacre of the Innocents. He was awarded also a silver medal for cutting a steel die, a head of Melpomene. Together with the gold medal, Adams was entitled to the travelling studentship, but having returned from Rome, where he had been working for a few months, he did not avail himself of it. After leaving the Royal Mint, he devoted his time exclusively to his art, and Pistrucci, who was living in retirement near Windsor, gave him further instruction in modelling and cutting medal-and coin-dies. In 1851 the design sent in by G. G: Adams was selected out of the international competition for the Jurors' medal, and he received the 100 Guinea Prize. This design was used for the reverse, the double heads of the Queen and Prince Consort by Wyon having been selected for the obverse. At the suggestion of the Prince Consort, a bust of Minerva and scales were added in the exergue, to render the design still more appropriate to the Jurors. The design represents Industry seated on cornucopiae receiving from Britain the reward of Fame. This work established the reputation of the artist as a medallist. The four medals Adams executed for the Corporation of the City of London were also competitive designs. About 1868, the artist received an invitation from the city of Philadelphia to be Master of the Mint there, an ofter which he did not accept, feeling then too old, as he said, for transplantation. In 1852, Adams cast the face of the Duke of Wellington in death, and produced what the old Duke's son pronounced the authentic bust of the hero, from which the Funeral medal was copied. G. G. Adams' success as a sculptor was equal to his success as a medallist. He executed eight public statues in England : Napier in Trafalgar Square; — Sir Wm and Sir. Chas. Napier in St Paul's; —F. M., Lord Seaton at Devonport; — Wellington at Norwich ; — Cobden at Stockport; — The Dean of Ripon in St George's Hall, Liverpool, &c. One of his last works was a bust of the R. Honble W. E. Gladstone, for Eton College. In 1887, he cut a Jubilee medal of H. M. the Queen with a double head, young and old. The following list includes all the most celebrated medals engraved by G. G. Adams, but there are many others of private individ uals, relatives an J friends, of which we have not found a record. The artist was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, and for a number of years was a constant exhibitor at the Royal Academy. List of Medals. — The medal struck by the Indian Government to commemorate the Proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India, 1877, a commission recommended by the Authorities of the Royal Mint; — The Miniature Medal of the same, executed for the late Queen (by command); — The Arctic Medals of 1875 and 1876, commissioned by the Royal Mint, for the Admiralty, by order of the late Queen — a reduced head of the Empress of India Medal;— The ' Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Medal, obv. a figure of H. M. the late Queen seated with her favourite dog; commissioned by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts ; — The Jurors' Medal of the Great Exhibition of 1851 (which won the 100 Guinea Prize); — The Opening Medal of the Crystal Palace, Sydenham (obv. the profile likenesses of Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort) ; — The Medal struck by the Corporation of the City of London to commemorate the opening of Blackfriars Bridge and the Holborn Valley Viaduct by H. M. the late Queen, 1869 (competition, England, Belgium, &c.)j — The Prince Consort, from sittings, the Installation Medal as Chancellor of Cambridge, 1847 ; — The medal to commemorate the King of the Hellenes' visit to the City of London, 1880, struck for the Corporation (competition, England, France, Belgium, &c); also a smaller medal of His Majesty ; — The Acclimatization Society's medal of London, 1867; obv. head of H. R. H. the Prince of Wales, from sittings; commissioned by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts ; — H. R. H. the late Duke of Cambridge, from sittings; a medal presented to the twelve Sergeants who bore him to the grave,- — The Richmond Horticultural Society's Medal; obv. a profile portrait of H.S.H. the Duke of Teck, from sittings; —Trie Funeral Medal of Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, 1852, the portrait on obv. from Adams' "authentic" bust; — Viscount Harainge, from sittings; a medal to commemorate his appointment and the victories archieved by him in India, 1846; — The Roorkee College, India, Prize medal; — The National Rifle Association Prize Medal, 1860; — Dr and Mrs Gray. (British Museum) (illustrated) ; — The Bull and Wilson medal for the Black Cloth Exhibition, 1851 ; — For the Art Union of London : Sir Thomas Lawrence; — the Dyce medal, 1864; — the Etty medal; — the Sir Gilbert Scott medal; — and the Mulready medal; — A medal executed for the Clothworkers' Company as a Prize; — A medal given for Prize Essays by the Royal Artillery Institution, Woolwich ; — The Guy medal presented by Samuel Butterworth, Esq., F.S. A., as a good conduct Badge for Nurses ; — The George Godwin Bursary medal, presented as a Prize by the Royal Institute of British Architects; — The Seal for the City Parochial Foundation; —Prince Albert Victor of Wales receives the Freedom of the City of London, 1885 ; — Marriage of the Duke and Duchess of York, on their Visit to the City, 1893 ; — Barber Beaumont medal, Founder of the Beaumont Trust, 1886 ; — Opening of the Port of Buenos-Ayres, not signed, commissioned by the Government of the Argentine Republic; — H. M. Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, 1897. His signature on the medals was invariably : G. G. ADAMS D. F. At a sale which took place in July 1900 at Messrs Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, London, an almost complete set of Adams' medals was offered, and realized high prices. These medals were sold by order of his widow, in whose possession they were. Bibliography. — Information kindly furnished by Mrs G. G. Adams. — Sotheby's Catalogue, Medals by G. G. Adams, July 1900. — C. Welch, Numismata Londinensia, 1894. — R. N. Cochran-Patrick, Medals of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1884.
Source: Biographical dictionary of medallists; coin, gem, and seal-engravers, mint-masters, ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900; compiled by L. Forrer, London 1904
Source: Biographical dictionary of medallists; coin, gem, and seal-engravers, mint-masters, ancient and modern, with references to their works B.C. 500-A.D. 1900; compiled by L. Forrer, London 1904
KÖNIG, ANTON FRIEDRICH
KÖNIG, ANTON FRIEDRICH (Germ.). Son of the last; born at' Breslau, in 1773, and also a Medallist. His early life was spent at Berlin, but in 1824 he settled at Dresden. To him are ascribed the following medals : Centenary of Pomerania's homage prestation, 1821 (signed : F. KÖNIG FEC.) ; — Rebuilding of the town of Gnesen destroyed by fire, 1823 ; — Silver Wedding of Leopold Frederick, Duke of Anhalt, and Frederike née Princess of Prussia ; — Portugalöser with bust of the Prince Elector Joachim,...
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KÖNIG, ANTON FRIEDRICH (Germ.). Son of the last; born at' Breslau, in 1773, and also a Medallist. His early life was spent at Berlin, but in 1824 he settled at Dresden. To him are ascribed the following medals : Centenary of Pomerania's homage prestation, 1821 (signed : F. KÖNIG FEC.) ; — Rebuilding of the town of Gnesen destroyed by fire, 1823 ; — Silver Wedding of Leopold Frederick, Duke of Anhalt, and Frederike née Princess of Prussia ; — Portugalöser with bust of the Prince Elector Joachim,...
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LEONI, LODOVICO
LEONI, LODOVICO called IL PADOVANINO or IL PADOVANO (Ital.). Painter, Modeller in wax, Medallist, and Coin-engraver, born at Padua in 1531; died at Rome in 1606; some say in 1612. He executed Portrait-medallions in wax, besides painting in oil and fresco landscapes and historical subjects. He is said to have been employed as Engraver at the Mint of Rome, circa 1573-1586; notwithstanding, only one of the many medals of Pope Gregory XIII. bears his signature L. PADOVAN. ; others may be looked for...
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LEONI, LODOVICO called IL PADOVANINO or IL PADOVANO (Ital.). Painter, Modeller in wax, Medallist, and Coin-engraver, born at Padua in 1531; died at Rome in 1606; some say in 1612. He executed Portrait-medallions in wax, besides painting in oil and fresco landscapes and historical subjects. He is said to have been employed as Engraver at the Mint of Rome, circa 1573-1586; notwithstanding, only one of the many medals of Pope Gregory XIII. bears his signature L. PADOVAN. ; others may be looked for...
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AATZ, JOSEPH
AATZ, JOSEPH (Germ.). Master or Inspector of the Electoral Mint of Mayence, during the bishopric of Frederick Charles Joseph von Erthal (1774-1802). His initials I. A. appear on various coins, among which the most noteworthy are the following : Ducat of 1795, Convention thalers of 1794 (2 var.), and 1795, and on a medal, engraved by Fred. Stieler on the Defeat of the French under General Jourdan, 1795, by General Count von Clairfait. Bibliography. — Reimmann Münzen u. Medaillen-Cabinet, Ad. Hess...
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AATZ, JOSEPH (Germ.). Master or Inspector of the Electoral Mint of Mayence, during the bishopric of Frederick Charles Joseph von Erthal (1774-1802). His initials I. A. appear on various coins, among which the most noteworthy are the following : Ducat of 1795, Convention thalers of 1794 (2 var.), and 1795, and on a medal, engraved by Fred. Stieler on the Defeat of the French under General Jourdan, 1795, by General Count von Clairfait. Bibliography. — Reimmann Münzen u. Medaillen-Cabinet, Ad. Hess...
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ABBO
ABBO (French). Merovingian Moneyer, who worked at Chalons circa A.D. 593, and later at Limoges, circa A.D. 604. In the Cuerdale find a curious piece was met with, bearing on obv. the legend ABBO MONET or MANET, and a Merovingian bust, and on R. a cruciform monogram. The Vicomte Ponton d'Ame-court, and after him Mr. Kenyon, in his Gold Coins of England, concluded that Abbo worked as moneyer in England and that he was one of the Franks who accompanied St Augustine to England, in 596 or 597. It is ...
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ABBO (French). Merovingian Moneyer, who worked at Chalons circa A.D. 593, and later at Limoges, circa A.D. 604. In the Cuerdale find a curious piece was met with, bearing on obv. the legend ABBO MONET or MANET, and a Merovingian bust, and on R. a cruciform monogram. The Vicomte Ponton d'Ame-court, and after him Mr. Kenyon, in his Gold Coins of England, concluded that Abbo worked as moneyer in England and that he was one of the Franks who accompanied St Augustine to England, in 596 or 597. It is ...
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