Hanover, Civil and Military Medals, Plate XL bis, Wood Engraving, 1844

This original antique wood engraving, colored by hand, shows three Hanoverian medals, each hanging from a folded ribbon. At upper left (14) is a silver medal bearing a bare head in profile to the left, on a red ribbon edged in pale blue. At upper right (15) is a silver medal with a crown above an interlaced cipher, on a ribbon of black with yellow and white stripes. At the foot (16) is a silver medal with the same crowned cipher, on a white ribbon with broad orange stripes.

The running head at upper left reads "HANOVRE." (Hanover) and the plate number at upper right "XL bis."; the items are numbered 14 to 16, each with a French caption. Medal 14 is captioned "Médaille de Guillaume. (face.)" (Medal of William, obverse), medal 15 "Médaille civile." (civil medal), and medal 16 "Médaille militaire." (military medal). No inscriptions are legible on the medals themselves beyond the ciphers.

The plate comes from Ordres de Chevalerie et Marques d'Honneur, published by Auguste Wahlen in Brussels by the Librairie Historique-Artistique, rue de Schaerbeek, 12, in 1844; the half title reads Histoire, costumes, décorations de tous les ordres de chevalerie, et marques d'honneur. Auguste Wahlen was the pen name of the Belgian writer Jean-François-Nicolas Loumyer (1801 to 1875), and the title page lists his own knighthoods in the orders of Prussia, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Hanover, Greece, the Roman States, Saxe-Coburg and Brazil. The illustrations are relief prints, wood engravings colored by hand with watercolor.

The three bright ribbons give this supplementary plate an easy decorative appeal, and it pairs naturally with the other Hanover plates.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.