THE INVENTION OF THOMAS WILFRED

I enjoyed the brief review of the Thomas Wilfred Clavilux medal in the last issue. One thing missing was any hint of the intended use of this marvelous machine. I researched it for "A Century of Civility, Centennial History of the New York Numismatic Club," published 2008. I included the Clavilux medal with the Presidential Medal of the second Tom Wilfred, a great Past President of NYNC.

No info was provided in the recent coverage as to the use of this "dancing light" invention which was to accompany lectures of the Theosophist Society which brought together occultist believers and followers of Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatski, famous Russian-born mystic of the late 19th century. One of the more prominent and fashionable late Victorian occultists, she claimed extensive mystic powers and first-hand insights into the mystic spirit world and her followers remain active in Europe, the British Isles, India and America.

We might add that the first Tom Wilfred was the last president of the short-lived Collectors of Art Medals (CAM) back in 1972. CAM was an ambitious attempt to boost appreciation and collecting of world and U.S. medals. It was much given to vain-glorious boasting about the size its membership was going to attain, outstripping the ANA in a few years, etc. Lacking coherent, active leadership, CAM emptied its treasury preparing the first issue of a magazine that was going to be a wonder of the world but which was never actually published.

When I founded Medal Collectors of America (MCA) in 1998, we avoided boasting in favor of solid achievement, registering successes that were possible with resources at hand.

Let's hear it for the Clavilux!

David Thomason Alexander
Founder, Medal Collectors of America

To watch a YouTube video, see:
1930 CLAVILUX made by Thomas Wilfred, in operation (www.youtube.com/watch?v=icGdtUQy5qQ)

For more information on the Yale exhibition, see:
Lumia: Thomas Wilfred and the Art of Light (http://artgallery.yale.edu/exhibitions/exhibition/lumia-thomas-wilfred-and-art-light)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
DICK JOHNSON VISITS THE YALE ART MUSEUM (www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n14a16.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web