Object Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Knapp Silver Prize Medal, 1891 |
Object Name |
Medal, Prize |
Description |
Knapp Silver Prize Medal, 1891. Silver Medal from the Mechanics Institute of San Francisco awarded for Industrial Exhibition to R.I. Knapp for best side hill plow in 1891. Medal is round and flat with raised edge on both sides. Embossed on one side are three female figures. Central figure is standing with arms extended out to both sides with laurel wreaths in each hand. Figure seated on the left is holding a hammer which is resting on a anvil with a compass and what appears to be a mechanical round cog leaning against it. The figure seated on the right is seated on a plow, her right arm is cradling a sickle and a bushel of wheat and grapes, a painter's palette and lyre are resting against her leg. On the left, in the background, there appears a train with smoke billowing out of the stack, behind the train there appears to be a bridge and a hill. On the right, in the background, there is a body of water with a boat sailing in it. The other side of the medal is embossed with a wreath around the lower edge. Embossed text at the top reads, " INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION / AWARDED TO." Etched beneath is: "R.I. Knapp. / BEST / SIDE HILL PLOW. / 1891."Silver medal from the Mechanics Institute of San Francisco awarded for Industrial Exhibition to R.I. Knapp Side Hill Plow in 1891. |
Date |
1891 |
Creator |
Mechanics Institute of San Francisco |
Role |
Manufacturer |
Catalog Number |
1968.023.002 |
Dimensions |
H-2 W-2 D-0.125 inches |
Collection |
3D - Personal Symbols |
Inscription Text |
"INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION / AWARDED TO" (embossed at top on one side); " R.I. Knapp. / BEST / SIDE HILL PLOW. / 1891" (etched beneath on one side); "MECHANIC'S' INSTITUTE / SAN FRANCISCO" (embossed on other side) |
Provenance |
Silver Medal from the Mechanics Institute of San Francisco awarded to R.I. Knapp for his side hill plow in the Industrial Exhibition of 1891. |
Notes |
In the Inudstrial Exhibition of 1891, R.I. Knapp won two awards; Knapp's side-hill plow and steel plows won the Silver medal for "Best Side-Hill Plow" and a diploma for "Best Plow for General Use." R.I. Knapp was one of five in his class to win a silver medal and one of many to have recieved some type of award, be it a medal or diploma, that year. [https://archive.org/stream/reportofindustri00mech_10#page/116/mode/2up/search/knapp 09/08/2017] "The plows manufactured by the Knapp Plow Company contributed significantly to the agricultural history of the Santa Clara Valley. The life of the company began in 1871 in Half Moon Bay, California, when Robert I. Knapp (1833-1904) built his first plow. During that time, many farmers were growing potatoes on the hills along the coast. They plowed the sides using a Kilgore reversible plow (sometimes called sidehill plow), with a cast iron bottom, which was found to be problematic and ineffective. As a blacksmith, wheelwright, and wagon maker, R. I. Knapp served many farmers who took their Kilgore plows to him for service. In response, R. I. Knapp built a reversible plow which had a carbon steel bottom, hardwood beam and handles, cast iron standard, and a locking device to stabilize the plowshare. Patented in 1875 and again in 1882, Knapp’s plow was so successful that between 1878 and 1907 it won 14 awards at county and state fairs, as well as at the World’s Exposition in New Orleans." [http://historysanjose.org/wp/research-collection/knapp-plow-collection/ 09/08/2017] "Mechanics' Institutes in general were the offspring of the industrial revolution. They were created in Scotland in the 1820's with the objective of providing technical education to those for whom a traditional university experience was unattainable. The concept spread like wildfire throughout the English speaking world and at its pinnacle there were some seven hundred Mechanics' Institutes in England alone[1]. Typically, Mechanics' Institutes offered their communities vocational and technical "hands on" classes, lectures on science, technology and the humanities, a library that supported the Institute's educational aims, and recreational opportunities that encouraged camaraderie. Such a facility was greatly needed in Gold Rush era San Francisco...On the evening of December 11, 1854, John Sime, Roderick Matheson, Benjamin Heywood, George Gluyas and a score of others assembled in the tax collector's office, at City Hall with the object of forming a Mechanics' Institute...The directors had to come up with a plan [to fund the Institute] so they decided to host an Exposition — like other Mechanics' Institutes did in the eastern United States and Great Britain — to raise money to support the classes offered by the Institute, provide money for the purchase of Library materials, and to promote local industry and agriculture... Ultimately there would be 31 fairs between 1857–1899 which would contribute greatly to the economy and industrial pursuits of the San Francisco Bay Area. These fairs, and the rental of the fair buildings, were income generators for the Institute and supported its library and other services." [https://www.milibrary.org/about/history 09/08/2017] |
Search Terms |
Awards Farm Equipment Farm tools Farming Technology Half Moon Bay Industrialized Agriculture Knapp Factory Knapp Plow Knapp, Robert Israel (R. I.) Medals Plows |
Subjects |
Awards Farming Hills Medals Plowing Plows |
People |
Knapp, Robert Israel (R. I.) |
Credit line |
Courtesy of Norman E. Knapp |