Historical and Art Medals, Numismatic Books

France, Gallia Tutrix, 1904, a bronze medal by M.-A.-L. Coudray, seated figure of La France attended by three French Colonial children, rev. tropical flora and fauna, 68mm (PBE 262; CGMP p.100; BM Acq. 1983-7, p.18, 31-2; BDM VII, 194); Bicentenary of the Birth of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 1912, a bronze plaque by C.H. Jacot Guillermod, Rousseau seated in his study with a boy, rev. books and quill pen, 45 x 35mm; On Les A, 1919, a bronze plaque by E.A. Monier, soldier with rifle, rev. view of Strasbourg, 65 x 45mm (CGMP p.257; cf. DW 24, 443); Édouard Michelin, c. 1950, a bronze award medal by L. Brunswick, bust right, rev. Michelin man holding palm branch, named (1927 G. Monnet 1963), 40mm; Mistinguett, 1967, a bronze medal by M. Delannoy, facing bust of Jeanne Bourgeois, song titles around, rev. the entertainer seated cross-legged, in an extravagant feather-tailed gown, 63mm (CGMP p.600; BM Acq. 1983-7, p.34, 119) [5]. Very fine and better, fourth in maroon case of issue (£80-100)

Plate XXVII, reverse of last medal only. Jeanne Bourgeois (1875-1956), the French actress and singer known as Mistinguett, made her debut at the Casino de Paris in 1895. Her risqué routines captivated Paris and she went on to become the most popular French entertainer of her time and the highest paid female entertainer in the world. In 1919 her legs were insured for the then astounding amount of 500,000 francs. She had a long relationship with the much younger Maurice Chevalier, but it was her other torrid love affairs with, in turn, an Indian prince, Alfonso XIII of Spain and the future King Edward VII of England that became legendary. She starred in over 30 silent movies between 1908 and 1917 and first recorded her signature song, C’est Mon Homme, in 1920. It was popularized under its English title My Man by Fanny Brice and has become a standard in the repertoire of numerous pop and jazz singers