102149 | GREAT BRITAIN. Gresham Angling Society silver Award Medal.

102149  |  GREAT BRITAIN. Gresham Angling Society silver Award Medal. Issued 1893 for specimen fish (39mm, 21.54 g, 12h). Engraved and awarded to E. Hesse of Chisenhale Road, Old Ford.

 

Grasshopper left above ribbon reading GRESHAM ANGLING SOCIETY; around, border with fish, basket, hooks, nets, and tackle / PRIZE FOR SPECIMEN FISH, engraved in three lines in center, "E. HESSE / Dace / 1893"; garlanded wreath below. Edge: Plain.

 

Choice Mint State. Deeply toned, with an intense ring of iridescence and shimmering brilliance in the fields. Incredibly attractive and alluring.

 

Hesse appears to have won this medal for the exhibition of a dace, a type of freshwater fish in the minnow family. An advertisement in the 1893 publication Red Palmer: A Practical Treatise on Fly-Fishing by James Tayler conveys Hesse's accolades, in that:

 

• "E. Hesse,
• of the Gresham Angling Society,
• Animal, Bird & Fish Preserver,
• 59, Chisenhale Road, Old Ford,
• Near the "Earl of Aberdeen," Reiman Road.
• Specialist in Fish Mounting.
• Inventor of the New "Natural" Eye, (for Fish)
• First Class Exhibition Medal.
• Price List on Application.

 

Based upon this ad, it would appear that Hesse was an accomplished taxidermist who perfected a fake eye to be used in the mounting of fish for display, likely using this award medal in his adverts.

 

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