The featured item from our online shop today is this well-aged 1869 Ville de Lille, France, Horticultural Silver Medal designed by French engraver and medallist Jean-Claude Esparon (1832-1886). This piece shows remnants of lacquer, minor edge nicks and some marks on the reverse and was likely produced for the 'Association française pour l'avancement des sciences' (The French Association for the Advancement of Science). The obverse of this piece is inscribed with the name of its recipient: 'AIME DERAED'.
Lille is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Nicknamed in France the "Capital of Flanders", Lille and its surroundings belong to the historical region of Romance Flanders, a former territory of the county of Flanders that is not part of the linguistic area of West Flanders. A garrison town (as evidenced by its Citadel), Lille has had an eventful history from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution.
Obverse engraved: AIME DERAED
Signed by J. ESPARON A PARIS
Reverse engraved: CERCLE HORTICOLE DU NORD MAI 1869
