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FRUIT OF THE LOOM CENTENNIAL MEDAL
While looking for other things I came across this medal by Julio Kilenyi for the centennial of the Fruit of the Loom company (1851-1951).
-Editor
 
Truly a foundational item for any medal collector worth their britches. I checked with Dick Johnson who put me in touch with Harry
Waterson who's been researching sculptor Kilenyi's work. Harry kindly forwarded his draft, and gave permission to publish the
following excerpt. Thanks! -Editor
Harry writes: Julio Kilenyi was born in Arad, Hungary 1885 and died in NYC 1959. Attached is a clipping I found some time ago. It is from The Gallup Independent, Gallup, NM Jan. 30. 1951 p2. Must have been a slow news day in Gallup. Kilenyi did do this medal; he signed the reverse. It was struck by the Robbins Co of Attleboro, MA. 
Harry provided text from his entry on the medal. Thanks! -Editor
Obverse: An apple nestled between two grape clusters with a few currents at the bottom. A crescent shaped banner with rolled ends bears the legend: FRUIT OF THE LOOM. The composition is placed at the center of a cross-hatched textured circular field. The field has a small narrow rim rising to a large more pronounced outer rim. Reverse: A path leads through a wood with laurel trees to the right and oak trees to the left with an intertwined canopy of leaves above. Across the foreground between the two largest tree trunks is a rectangular tablet with a 4-line on-center inscription: TO THOSE WHO HAVE SHARED / IN BUILDING OUR PRICELESS HERITAGE- / CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AND GOODWILL / 1851 1951. The scene is framed by a narrow circular gutter rising to a large rounded rim. There is a tiny KILENYI at the bottom of the tablet flush left. Signed: Kilenyi Edge: Scalloped and plain Issuer: Fruit of the Loom, Inc., Pontiac, RI Design: "The Fruit of the Loom seal is on one side of the medallion. The other side symbolizes a path leading out of the past through a forest of laurel and oak trees down to the milestone of the present. The laurel, on the left, is the traditional symbol for honor and dignity while the oak portrays strength."1 Ephemera: Each boxed medal came with a folded business card style insert. The front of the insert was an artist's drawing of the obverse of the medal with the fruit colored appropriately. The copy inside described the meaning of the medal and saluted all those who contributed to the centennial of the company. 
To read the complete eBay lot description, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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