103333 | BELGIUM & NETHERLANDS. Télégraphie sans fil bronze Plaque.

103333  |  BELGIUM & NETHERLANDS. Télégraphie sans fil bronze Plaque. Issued 1912 (52mm x 66mm, 85.62 g, 12h). By Eugène Jean de Bremaecker for the Société hollando-belge des amis de la médaille (Belgo-Dutch Society of the Friends of Medallic Art), and struck by Fisch.

 

Female figure, wearing sheer drapery, seated right atop telegraph lines and raising both hands to head—one to hear and one to shout; rising sun and smokestacks on the horizon at a distance // Torch garlanded to palm frond and laurel branches; above and around, "A LA GLOIRE / DE LA TELEGRAPHIE SANS FIL / A SES GENIES / CLERK MAXWELL / HERTZ / BRANLY / POPOFF / SIR OLIVER LODGE / MARCONI / BRAUN - A SES HEROS / JACK BINNS / SS. REPUBLIC - 1908 / ECCLES / +SS. OHIO - 1908 / PHILIPS / +SS. TITANIC - 1912 / HAROLD BRIDE / SS. TITANIC - 1912". Edge: Plain.

 

Médailles Historiques de Belgiques III, p. 226. Mintage: 302. Gem Mint State. Extremely glossy and lustrous.

 

Following the proof of the existence of electromagnetic waves by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1887, a flurry of other scientific minds turned to a new medium for study—the "airwaves." Guglielmo Marconi's invention of the radio, for which he won the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics, furthered what would become a rapidly growing industry during the first three decades of the 20th century, as communication now need not be reliant upon the connection of wires. Here, de Bremaecker captures this novel technology and pairs it with wondrous Beaux-Arts flair.

 

That said, reviews of his design were rather mixed locally in Belgium upon its release, with Médailles Historiques de Belgiques III mentioning that "...'La télégraphie sans fil', exécutée par M. DeBremaecker pour la Société hollandaise-belge des Amis de la Médaille d'art, est intéressante; ce qui le plouve, c'est qu'elle a suscité des opinions contradictoires. Chacun a pu se former à son sujet une manière de voir" ('La télégraphie sans fil,' executed by Mr. DeBremaecker for the Dutch-Belgian Society of Friends of the Art Medal, is interesting; proof of this is that it has aroused contradictory opinions. Everyone has been able to form their own opinion about it).

 

It is difficult to find fault with the obverse iconography, as it is quite sublime and full of action. Traditional attributions describe the obverse figure upon a telegraph line, which would make sense. However, the lines don't exactly have that appearance. Instead, given the presence of water below and the fact that wireless telegraphy had a very important early role in the shipping world, one must ask if, in fact, the figure is seated at the top of a ship's rigging. In that case, the female figure would be a personification of wireless telegraphy itself, shouting information and signals to others, all while also receiving said information and signals. Furthermore, the reverse mentions numerous individuals involved in naval distresses and their subsequent use of wireless telegraphy. However, one fault would be that Bremaecker did get numerous dates and titles incorrect (such as the SS Republic and Titanic, which should have been RMS, the sinking of the SS Ohio as 1908, which should have been 1909, and the naming of [Jack] Philips, which should have been Phillips.

 

The Société hollando-belge des amis de la médaille d'art, similar to American series such as the Circle of Friends of the Medallion, the Society of Medalists, and even the still-active Brookgreen Gardens issues, was an annual series of medallic art, each featuring different designs and themes by some of the most acclaimed sculptors and engravers in Belgium and the Netherlands. The series produced numerous medals from 1901-1920, eventually becoming Les amis de la médaille d’art, active from 1920-1959.

 

Upload: 20 January 2026.