This month we put the spotlight on an object of somewhat dubious distinction. Pictured above are both sides of an honorary medal given to Henry W. Longfellow by someone who claimed the title "Prince of Mantua and Montferrat." Made by the Baddeley Bros. of London engraving firm, the medal measures about two inches in diameter and is made of gilded bronze. It features a portrait of an unidentified man (possibly the Prince?) on the obverse, while the reverse has lettering which reads -The name of Longfellow is added to our roll and associated with the names of Raphael, Michael Angelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Dante, Tasso, Columbus, Ariosto, Galileo, Copernicus, Racine, Moliere, Cervantes, Milton, Shakespeare, Napier, Newton, Napoleon, Cuvier.
Old Mantuan Medallists
A bit of digging reveals that the origin of this medal has little, if anything, to do with Mantua, Montferrat, or a prince of any sort.
The originator of this “award” was Charles Ottley Groom Napier. Born on Tobago in the Caribbean in 1839 and raised in England, Napier was an avid natural history collector and geologist, but is perhaps now best known for his odd and rather grandiose declarations on matters scientific and personal. The author of works on mineralogy, ornithology, and vegetarianism (to which he ascribed), Napier had unusual and widely derided opinions on spiritualism, and was somewhat infamous for his suspect claims of ancestral links to various historic personages, including the biblical King David.
By 1879 Napier had assumed the title of Prince of Mantua and Montferrat, a claim based on extensive and questionable genealogical research, and he also developed his scheme to issue a set of honorary medals, a practice he claimed originated in 14th century Italy with medals allegedly presented to such Renaissance luminaries as da Vinci and Michael Angelo. This medal and 23 others were mailed to various leading figures of the day in the fields of science, art, literature, and politics, and the sharp-eyed will notice Napier included his own name in the list of eminent people on the back! An associated banquet for 7,000 guests, at which only vegetarian food was served, was held in London the same year; Napier reportedly was unable to attend due to illness, and firsthand accounts of the event seem scarce. He requested medal recipients to acknowledge the award with a letter and photograph, but so far no verification that Henry W. Longfellow ever responded to him, nor any evidence of Longfellow's thoughts on the award or its presenter, has been uncovered.