Franz Eue, Sculptor's Medal Collection. Help needed.

[comicAL]

Hi, Everyone

 

A friend of mine let me take some quick pictures of a really beautiful collection of sculptured medals by Franz Eue. He was the father of her husband, both men are deceased. She is the owner of them now and she is not a collector.

 

The collection of medals were framed by Aaron Brothers Art Mart Many years ago.

After removing the medals from the case I found that they were stuck to the felt!

 

Contacting a local Aaron Brothers the person there stated that it was probably glue gunned to the felt mat. This is expert framing?

 

I will be seeing her again at a function this Sunday, 3/30/08.

 

I need to let her know this is not the way to display these gorgeous medals. One cannot see the reverse of each medal. Any suggestions on who should reframe it?

 

Your thought and suggestions on this matter is greatly appreciated.

 

AAJ

[TomB]

You can buy a frame to use for medals and plaques and use some pins to hold the medals in place like this-

[cpm9ball]

Another option would be to have Capital Plastics make a custom holder for them. I have no idea what the cost might be.

 

Chris

[TomB]

A custom Capital Plastics holder to house them would cost a lot.

[RWB]

Go to a major museum and look at how they display medals and bas reliefs. That should give you some good ideas about how professionals handle these items. Over time, felt or velvet will stick to the edge and back of a medal even if there is no glue involved. The fabric expands and contracts with humidity levels and gradually adheres to the rough medal surface. Neither side of a medal should touch anything.

 

A plastic holder, as mentioned above, will be littered with ugly screw heads.

 

There are plastic ring-shaped holders that look a little like Cointains, but have flanges on each side. The medal is put in one ring, then inserted in a precut hole in the display board or panel, then the other ring is screwed into the first to lock the rings together and secure the medal in the panel.

 

[comicAL]

Hi, TomB, cpm9ball and RWB

 

Thank you all for your suggestions I will relay them to my friend later today. I will get back to the forum what she thinks about them.

 

Anyone else care to comment?

AAJ

[cpm9ball]

Tom, I know that a custom Capital holder would be expensive, but after all, what price should you put on a something cherished by a loved one?

 

RWB, I hate the pastic screws, too, but they could always be replaced with metal screws with ornamental heads. The head doesn't have a slot for a screwdriver. It's just hand tightened with pressure from the thumbs. The sleeve that is threaded on the inside to receive the screw also has the ornamental head. I've seen them used before in handicrafts.

 

Chris

[RWB]

cpm9ball -

For small displays or sets of coins all the same size, the screws might be OK or camouflaged. But for heavy, thick medals of differing diameters, the number of screws needed to keep a common plastic holder together is likely going to result in an ugly presentation, no matter how one tries to "beautify" the thing. A typical bronze medal can be ½-inch thick or more.

 

Just an opinion....

 

[cpm9ball]

A typical bronze medal can be ½-inch thick or more.

 

I have to disagree with you. I have hundreds of medals, both U.S. and European, and a typical medal is less than 1/4" thick. The thickest one, by far, in my entire collection is the 1876 Centennial Exposition Award Medal which is .38" thick.

 

I'm not talking about using just any screw. These decorative screws are usually made of brass with a molded pattern for the head. If I can find a photo, I will post it to show you what I mean.

 

Chris

[TomB]

You have a point about the cost of the display, Chris, and I had been thinking more along the lines of someone who would eventually sell.

[Just Bob]

Capital Plastic holders are made of acrylic, (brand names: Plexiglas, Lucite, Acrylite, etc). This is available from a glass company, cut to any size that you need. Three pieces sandwiched together, with the inner piece having cut-outs to fit each individual medal, and attached with the decorative screws that Chris referred to, would look very nice, IMO.

As an alternative, you could use stand-offs like these:

 

These can also be ordered by a glass company.

 

Acrylic can be cut using woodworking tools.