I have one of five St. Christopher Medallions that was given to
my father and four other bomber crewmembers during WWII from
Barbara Stanwyck. As Ms. Stanwyck was a well-known entertainer, I
thought that it would be interesting to identify the jeweler or
business where she may have been a customer and purchased the
medallions. Facts known:
Giving the medallions to the bomber crewmen is well documented
in an Army/Air Corp publication, “Brief”, dated June 13, 1944 to
include photographs and the inscription provided on the
medallions.
The medallions are marked as 14 carat gold.
Each medallion was engraved to each crewmember by name as in the
case of my father’s medallion:
To John G
Bless You
"Queen"
Barbara
Ms. Stanwyck signed the medallions “Queen” in reference to her
performance as Queenie in “Lady of Burlesque”.
In a letter to one of the crewmen from Ms. Stanwyck dated March
28, 1944, she states that she is glad that the medals arrived -
she was getting ready to blast the Post Office. That would place
the time of origin for Ms. Stanwyck obtaining the medallions
probably during late 1943.
According to a local jeweler, the inscription was hand engraved.
Above the “14 Carat” mark is a distinctive jeweler’s mark which I
understand would identify the actual jeweler who engraved the
medallions and additionally could be a clue as to the location
where the medallions were obtained.
My request for assistance is based on the jeweler’s mark as it
is the single clue to continue my search to learn more about my
father’s medallion. However, this is where I am stuck since I
don’t know how or where to go to track down a jeweler’s mark.
My request for assistance is a personal quest and not a business
venture. Any tips from the Orchid membership would be
appreciated.
Larry, I think you can safely narrow your search to Wes
Hollywood, Beverly Hills, West Los Angeles and Santa Monica. GIA
was previously headquartered in Santa Monica. They may have or be
able to direct you to a book of hallmarks.
GIA has its own Web Site, and their Librarian has been on these
forums.
There is a show on one of the shopping channels that sells
actual reproductions, albeit in lab created stones, of stars
jewelry from the movies. There have been several Stanwyck
pieces on the show called “The Hollywood Collection”. Charlene
Lake is the rep. The show is on ValuVision T.V. You can E-mail
them and ask Charleneif she can help. Go to their web site at http://www.vvtv.com. Click on ‘Favorite Shows’ on the left side
of the screen. “Hollywood Colection” will be in the list.
There are also several other shows possibly of interest to
Orchidians in the form of jewelry (it lets me see what is popular
without leaving my home) and loose I hope this
helps.
Skip
Skip Meister @Skip_Meister
N.R.A. Endowment &
Certified Instructor
in all disciplines
Certified Illinois D.N.R.
Hunter Ed, Instructor
On Public Television Service (PBS) channel is a very popular
travelling Antiques Roadshow where appraisers give free
appraisals, and include a fantastic commentary on the item
appraised. The broadcast I caught on Saturday at 6 pm local
time (MST) and taped in Los Angeles, they move to venues
around the world. There was a lady who brought in a Cartier
watch and a bracelet once owned by Clara Bow. She bought a
whole shoebox of Clara Bow stuff for something like $25.
I don’t know how anyone would be able to get into such a show.
Thousands turn up with all sorts of bric-a-brac from a real
hideous (painted green) vase used as an umbrella stand that
turned out to be a “somebody” original (sans paint) worth a few
thousand bucks, to a Tiffany lamp worth $30,000. New treasures
are turned out at every show. Kelvin Mok
(klmok@shaw.wave.ca)
Great! A second line of inquiry involving TV. The fun part of
trying to locate where the medallion came from is to do the
search exclusively by internet! Will inform all with tips as to
results - whenever that may be! Thanks!
Kelvin, I have been a fan of Antiques Roadshow for years, I
love it! Last year a man came in with a silver helmet he had
found in the rafters of his attic. It turned out to be some
ancient helmet from China[?] with absolutely beautiful repousse’
work covering the helmet. Needless today it was worth a small
fortune . Eileen
Wow! That really helps to focus on location areas. Most
important is your reference to “book of hallmarks”. I sense that
must have something to do with jeweler marks?!?!? Jeweler marks
are what I’m trying to learn about since this seems to be the
best clue for a specific location/person.
I just noticed that my replies are going back to orchid when I
thought they were going back to the message author. With that,
I’m somewhat embarassed for having shared personal in
an earlier message to such a wide audience if it shows up. I’ll
be more careful in the future.
I have been a fan of Antiques Roadshow for years, I love it!
Last year a man came in with a silver helmet he had found in
the rafters of his attic. It turned out to be some ancient
helmet from China[?] with absolutely beautiful repousse' work
covering the helmet. Needless today it was worth a small
fortune .
This gets a bit off topic for jewellers but I always had
ambitions (long time in the future) to find or make mannquins
correctly dressed in Classical Chinese costumes, the stuff you
see in Peking Operas. They are geogeous but I could never
figure out how the various parts of each costume come together
or how they are constructed. In particular the general’s
costume is more than just a peacock’s strut. That guy on stage
does actually have to fight in it and those acrobatic tumbles he
performs is proof enough to me that it is a functional warrior’s
garb. The various clothing panels are probably highly decorated
silk padded leather with embossed metal studs.
Back in the sixties there was a spate of Roman costume and
simulated orgy movies. I could never get enough of those either.
The generals looked so macho in their highly decorated
breastplates and mini-skirts. It took me a while but I finally
figured that it was because those breastplates with their
bulging chest muscles and fantastic abs were the best “falsies”
a man could only dream of possessing. He he.