The Collection of British Historical Medals formed by the late Ralph Kennedy

Foreword

From this small collection of commemorative medals it is possible to obtain some slight appreciation of the beauties or otherwise of ‘medallic art’, or ‘medallic illustration’. It should be noted that this art did not originate in Britain. Its first homes were on the continent of Europe, notably in Italy. The art reached England roughly in the time of Henry VIII, but very few English medals were struck before the reign of Charles I. Such being the case, it is not surprising that the present collection commences with that martyred monarch.

In this collection it will be noted that all foreign productions are excluded. This is not an exhibition of melancholy insularity, as much as a demonstration that one must draw the line somewhere. Thousands of European medals can be found if sought, but it was considered to be of greater interest to confine this assembly to British history.

Casual onlookers may well enquire: ‘Why strike medals at all?’ But why paint pictures? Why devote attention to any branch of art? A commemorative medal (not a ‘war medal’) is really a miniature study in...