Medal, Service medal for the Great Exhibition of 1851 depicting Prince Albert, inscribed to the School of Design, struck bronze, by William Wyon, London, 1851

Bronze medal with obverse depicting the profile bust of Prince Albert, facing left. The reverse design depicts a closed laurel wreath tied with a bow, encircling the legend 'FOR / SERVICES'.

The Service Medal, also known as the ‘For Services’ medal, was presented to individuals and companies in gratitude for services rendered to the Exhibition for the Works and Industries of all Nations, the ‘Great Exhibition’. It is one of five official medals commissioned by the Royal Commission for the Great Exhibition of 1851, who were charged by Queen Victoria with organising and administering the event under the Presidency of Prince Albert. He appears on the obverse (front) of this medal. The medals were presented by the Royal Commissioners on behalf of the Queen.

As early as 19th August 1851, after the opening of the Great Exhibition in May, the Commissioners resolved ‘that a medal should be struck, similar in character to the Exhibitors Medal, to commemorate the services rendered by those who have taken part in promoting the Exhibition, namely to the Members of all Committees of the Commission , the Foreign Commissioners and Agents, the Colonial Commissioners and Agents, the Local Commissioners, The Chairmen, Secretaries, and the Chairmen of Sub-Committees, and Treasurers of Local Committees, The Council, Treasurers, and Secretaries of the Society of Arts from July 1849 to the present time, and the Artists who sent in designs for the Building; and a list was ordered to be composed, under the sanction of the Finance Committee, of such persons, in addition to the above, as might be proper to include in the distribution of such a medal, such lists to be submitted for the final approval of His Royal Highness [Prince Albert].’

The formal order for the production of the Services and Exhibitors Medals was only issued to William Wyon on 13 October 1851, at the close of the Great Exhibition, for which he was advanced £500. He had designed both the obverse and reverses, but his son Leonard Wyon continued their production following his death on 29th October 1851. These medals are deliberately smaller than the first three official medal designs for the Great Exhibition, which were intended as prize awards, and the Commissioners had decided they should be roughly the size of a five shilling or shilling piece (a large coin). In this same spirit, the reverse of the Services Medal, like the Exhibitors Medal, is without the classical allegorical figures and Latin inscriptions of the first three medals, and the simpler designs and smaller size were intended to differentiate them as memorials and souvenirs rather than an award for comparative merit. The wreath is nevertheless a crisp and intricate design with a classical source.

The medals were inscribed with the recipient’s name around the outside edge, and awarded with a certificate illustrated with an engraved design by William Dyce R.A. and life size engravings of the medal design. These certificates were signed by Prince Albert. Recipients also got a copy of the extensive Reports of the Juries on the exhibits and medal award winners.

This example is part of a Presentation Set of the five official Great Exhibition medals which is inscribed in gold lettering on the inside of the lid to the Department of Practical Art, a government department which was set up as a result of the Great Exhibition, and was responsible for setting up the South Kensington Museum, which subsequently became the V&A.

A number of these 5 medal presentation box sets were made, and most of them were given alongside sets of official printed volumes produced for the Great Exhibition, all ordered by the Commissioners to act as commemorative gifts. They included bound copies of the ‘Supplement to the first report of the Commissioners: containing engravings of the medals and certificates..’, the ‘Illustrated Catalogue..’ in several volumes, ‘Reports of the Juries..’, and the Commissioners Reports. The volumes and medal sets alike were expensively bound in the same distinctive design of red morocco (goatskin), with stamped gilt lettering and decoration, and royal blue moiré silk doublures and endpapers.

The Service Medal was presented to individuals and companies in gratitude for services rendered to the Great Exhibition of 1851. The medals were inscribed with the recipient’s name around the outside edge and awarded alongside a certificate illustrated with engravings of the medal design, and signed by Prince Albert as President of the Royal Commission. They also received an octavo (small) bound copy of the extensive Juries’ reports on the exhibits and prize award winners.

This is one of five official medals designed for the Great Exhibition, presented on behalf of Queen Victoria by the Royal Commissioners. The Service Medal was commissioned at the close of the exhibition from William Wyon (1795-1851), who designed both the obverse (front) and reverse. It is deliberately smaller to differentiate it from the first three Exhibition medal designs intended as prize awards, and the reverse is a simple design without the allegorical figures and Latin inscriptions.

This example is part of a presentation set of the five medals given to the Department of Practical Art, a government department which was set up as a result of the Great Exhibition, and was responsible for setting up the South Kensington Museum, which subsequently became the V&A.

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