AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY COLLAGES

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V20 2017 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 20, Number 42, October 15, 2017, Article 22

I was in touch this week with Ben Hellings, the Ben Lee Damsky Assistant Curator of Numismatics at the Yale University Art Gallery. I learned that a unique currency collage is on display in the Bela Lyon Pratt Gallery by the Numismatics department and is accompanied by five display cases. Each case is centered around a theme and contains a range of objects from the Jackson numismatic collection and include: paper currency, stock certificates, dies, transfer dies, and die proofs. The material in the display cases will remain on view until March 11th 2018. The collection includes a second such collage in a different style frame. Ben kindly forwarded images for this article, shown below with his Curator's Note from the Yale web site. Thank you! -Editor

A transformative gift, the Susan and John Jackson, B.A. 1967, Endowment Fund for Numismatics, has helped establish an independent Department of Numismatics at the Gallery. The department will also benefit from a generous bequest from Susan and John Jackson, B.A. 1967, and the Liana Foundation, which will considerably augment the department’s collection of paper currency and related artwork.

One of the most impressive pieces is a unique gilded framed currency collage from the American Bank Note Company, dated to the late 19th or early 20th century. The inner center frame is composed of green stamp proofs, including the 1871 6¢ Hawaii stamp, 1883 1¢ Costa Rica stamp, 1885 1¢ Dominican Republic stamp, and 1860–64 8 1/2¢ Nova Scotia stamp. In the center is a Union Pacific stock certificate for 1,000 shares. Above, an arc has 30 1882 Hawaii stamps, alternating between the 10¢ black stamp and the 15¢ brown stamp. Above the first arc, a second arc consisting of 22 oval portraits of notable 19th-century figures adorns the center frame above the stock certificate.

The bottom portion of the central framed area comprises four historical vignettes, which are also found on bank notes and other currency-related material. These include, from left to right: De Soto’s discovery of the Mississippi River; the embarkation of the Pilgrims; the baptism of Pocahontas; and the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Around the center area, a second frame is composed of specimen bank notes of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Montenegro, and Peru. Additional stamps and colored geometric lathework contribute to the vibrant and elaborate collage.

The second collage is currently on view in the exhibit. -Editor

To read the complete article, see:
NOTE FROM THE CURATOR (http://artgallery.yale.edu/numismatics)