William McKinley--a reverse relief [bas-relief] plaque, known to some as a mourning plaque

Pittsburgh, PA [?]: McKee Glass Company [?], c1901. Other. RARE. Oval shape, with two nail holes, midpoint on right and left sides. Width is approximately 4 inches at widest point. Height is approximately 6.5 inches at tallest point. Rear side is flat. Front has a raised image of William McKinley standing. To his left is "Born 1843" and to his right is "Died 1901". Has some wear. This is believed to have been a contemporary mourning item. William McKinley (January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in the industrial states and nationwide until the 1930s. He presided over victory in the Spanish–American War of 1898; gained control of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and Cuba; restored prosperity after a deep depression; rejected the monetary policy of free silver, keeping the nation on the gold standard; and raised protective tariffs to boost American industry and keep wages high. McKinley was the last president to have served in the American Civil War; he was the only one to begin his service as an enlisted man, and end as a brevet major. His achievements were cut short when he was fatally shot on September 6, 1901, by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. McKinley was succeeded by Vice President Theodore Roosevelt. As an innovator of American interventionism and pro-business sentiment, McKinley is ranked as an above-average president, although his takeover of the Philippines is often criticized as an act of imperialism. His popularity was soon overshadowed by Roosevelt's. A low relief is a projecting image with a shallow overall depth, for example used on coins, on which all images are in low relief. In the lowest reliefs the relative depth of the elements shown is completely distorted, and if seen from the side the image makes no sense, but from the front the small variations in depth register as a three-dimensional image. The term comes from the Italian basso rilievo via the French bas-relief both meaning "low relief". An extensive search of the internet did not turn up any information on this specific item but did find the same image as being in the center of a Glass Oval Bread Platter To Commemorate the Death of President McKinley in 1901. The plate features a full size image of McKinley. It is a reverse relief design, showing the President holding a scroll. The dates of his birth and death are on the sides of the image. This plate was manufactured by McKee Glass Co. in 1901 or 1902. The McKee Glass Company was established originally in Pittsburgh, PA on the South Side. McKee closed its doors in 1983. Condition: Good.

Keywords: William McKinley, President, Assassination, Mourning, Memorial, Memorabilia, Plaque, Ornament, Artwork, Folk Art, Bas-Relief, Reverse Relief

[Book #86498]

Price: $375.00