New Addition: Two Medallions from the 1848 Revolution

 1848 Provisional Government Medallion. 1848. Two-sided medallion in cast metal. 1 3/8 inches.

Cast metal medallions were among the most popular ways to celebrate, commemorate, or express solidarity with a wide array of events, causes, and people in the 19th Century. As such, in the volatile situation of the 1848 Revolution they played a role in legitimizing what emerged as the provisional government among an array of competing groups and claims. It is evident that this medal, announcing the leftist Provisional Government, was struck in great haste, in the heat of the moment, as part of their tactics to cement their claim before the revolution was recuperated by reactionary forces, as had occurred in the 1830 Revolution when liberal monarchists seized the moment to establish a constitutional monarchy with (temporarily) free press, while the Left was still attempting to present a united front. The mold seems to have been prepared within an hour – the lettering is crude (the "4" in 1848 is backwards), the spacing and layout awkward; clearly, time was of the essence. Among the great many other medallions struck around this time was one also held by the Revenant Archive, celebrating the Romanticist poet Alphonse Lamartine, who had announced the republic and became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Provisional Government. The archive also holds the back half of a stamped-metal medallion of the liberal songwriter Béranger.

The front reads: "23 24 25 / Février 1848 / Rep[ublique]. Franc[ai]se / Gouvernement Provisiore" ("23 24 25 / February 1848 / Fr[en]ch Rep[ublic]  / Provisional Government".

The back lists the group of activists and politicians who had declared the republic: "Dupont. Lamartine. Lédru-Rollin. Arago. Grémieux. Ma[??]e. Garnier-Pagès. Marrast. L.[ouis] Blanc. Flocon. Albert. Pagnerre[?]".

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Alphonse de Lamartine Medallion. 1848. Two-sided medallion in cast metal.

Cast- and stamped-metal medallions were among the most common ways of expressing enthusiasm for popular (and often semi-popular) figures, whether in the realms of politics, culture, or the sciences. This small (13/16" diameter) medallion expresses solidarity with the new provisional government in the wake of the 1848 Revolution, united under the leadership of the Romanticist poet-turned Liberal politician Alphonse de Lamartine, who had announced the Republic, served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and effectively ran the government for several weeks. In fact the medallion was likely struck largely with the purpose of further legitimizing the new government in the face of reactionary opposition. (See the other medallion in the Revenant Archive commemorating the 1848 Revolution itself, as well as the earlier one for the liberal poet/songwriter Béranger.) The front contains the poet's face in profile and his name; the back declares the solidarity of leading leftist activist-politicians including Louis Blanc, Ledru-Rollin, and Arago. As shown by its worn and dinged-up surface, this particular medallion was certainly regularly worn by somebody actively involved with the left, probably at demonstrations and meetings of political clubs.