Washington Irving Plaquette

1912

Place madeUnited States, North America

Bronze; paper

Overall: 3 1/4 x 3 1/2 x 5/16 in. ( 8.2 x 8.9 x 0.8 cm )

Gift of Hevlyn Dirck Benson

1941.1053

Washington Irving (1783-1859), an American writer of English-Scottish descent born in New York City, was the first American to make a living solely from writing. In 1809, using a pen name "Diedrich Knickerbocker," Irving wrote his famous "History of New-York" where he described with great humor the lives of the early Dutch settlers of Manhattan. Irving was also the founder of the St. Nicholas Society of New York. Irving's portrait on this plaquette is based on the painting by C.R. Leslie.

DescriptionBronze struck uniface plaquette, a reduction of a large tablet mounted on the wall of Washington Irving High School, New York City, depicts bust-length portrait of Washington Irving in bas-relief, within a circular panel, facing three-quarters to the left and flanked by dates: "1783" and "1859"; inscription below: "ERECTED BY/THE SAINT NICHOLAS SOCIETY OF THE CITY/OF NEW YORK/IN APPRECIATION OF/WASHINGTON IRVING/HIS CHARACTER-HIS GENIVS-AND HIS SERVICES/AS A FOVNDER OF THE SOCIETY."

MarkingsInscription: lower left corner: "V.D.Brenner/MCMXII."

ClassificationsMEDALS