This obverse of this rectangular bronze medal depicts the head and shoulders of a bespectacled, moustache'd male beneath which are the words "Villemin 1827-1892" It is signed "P Turin.
The reverse depicts Le Val de Grace a military hospital in the 5th arrondissement in Paris. The words "Le Val de Grace" are stamped around the top of the dome and beneath the scene are the words" En memoire de centenaire de Villemin Medecin Inspecteur del'Armee Professeur au Val de Grace Vice-President de l'Academie de Medecine 15-19 Octobre 1927".
The rim is stamped "Bronze" with a triangular symbol containing the initials A B & Cie with a star and another circular symbol. This is the stamp of Arthus Bertrand.
Measurements:
Weight: 2 5/8ozs - 76gms
Length: 1 13/16ins - 4.7cms
Height: 2 5/16 ins - 5.9cms
Jean Antoine Villemin, (28.1.1827- 06.10.1892) a French physician who proved tuberculosis to be an infectious disease, transmitted by contact from humans to animals and from one animal to another.
Studied at Bruyères and at the military medical school at Strasbourg.
Qualified as an army doctor in 1853.
Sent for further study to the Val-de-Grâce, the military medical school in Paris where he practised.
Became a member of the French Académie Nationale de Médecine in 1874 & was its vice-president in 1891.
As an army doctor he observed that healthy young men from the country often developed tuberculosis while living in the close quarters of the barracks. He proved that tuberculosis was an infectious disease by inoculating laboratory rabbits with material from infected humans and cattle
His results, presented in 1867, were initially ignored as the French believed tuberculosis was hereditary and it was some time before his position was vindicated by the experiments of other scientists.
Awarded the Prix Leconte posthumously in 1893 in recognition of his work (his heirs received the 50,000 Francs that was part of the award)
Pierre Turin (1891-1968) was born in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He attended the École des Beaux-Arts, where he studied under Vernon, Patey and Coutain. He won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1920, and was made Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur in 1936. Although generally considered to be the most accomplished Art Deco medallist, his most famous medal was for the 1925 International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts.
Arthus-Bertrand, medals and decorations maker, founded in Paris in 1803 by Claude Arthus-Bertrand, an army officer during the French Revolution. Artists who have designed for the firm include Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi (sculptor of the Statue of Liberty) and Fernand Léger.
It is the official manufacturer of the French Legion of Honour and has made insignia for the Society of the Cincinnati and the Order of Lafayette.
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