WVZ76 1915 ZEPPELINE IN LONDON, Cast bronze, 62.2mm, 51.1g. Incuse Reverse, As Cast. RRR.
Frankenhuis 1100, Kaiser 432. Provenance: Dr. S. Martin Collection>DixNoonen Auction M6, Lot 1330> Goodman Collection

Three Zeppelins on bombing mission over London with a bomb exploding on the shipping docks and a small group of people retreating to the left.

The German Expressionist had an obsession with death, the machinery of war, and, in Gies’ case, a fascination with modern weapons. For Gies though, these weapons raised a larger issue of the relation of man to machine. Many of his medals show the insignificance of man in the mechanization of war. Here Gies’ theme rests with the destructive power of the machine hovering over London destroying the city, seemingly without human intervention, by the strange cigar-shaped objects in the sky above. Do you remember the hovering alien spacecraft in the movie “Independence Day”? Same concept…but this was really happening.

Seven (7) are known to exist and are distributed as follows:

1 London Imperial War Museum
1 Munchen Staatliche Munzsammlung
1 Ramat Aviv, Kadman Numismatic Museum
1 Stuttgart Wurttembergisches Landesmuseum
1 Wein, Kunsthistorisches Museum
2 in private collections, with this example being one of those two.

I love it...I have been learning a lot about Germany during WWI through collecting the notgeld, more in depth than I ever have. Its very fascinating. What year was this made do you know?

Fantastic and fascinating piece, GD. How hard was it to come across that nice example for your collection? Many other collectors out there looking for that?

A great medal.

Sorry Drusus, I apparently didn't get all my data when I cut and paste from my word doc. Take a look now for all the info at the top of the original post. S

I've really grown to like his work and ordered a copy of the Ludwig Gies catalog from Versandbuchhandlung Kurt Goetz. I figure I might as well enjoy the catalog even if his medals are so difficult to acquire. Fascinating pieces and a great specialty.

ah...1915...that was an eventful year Great medal, thanks for showing it.

Bill, when you say "catalog" what exactly are you talking about? Is it the Ernsting book of Ludwig Gies that I have (a huge book of all his works) or is it something else? If something else then I , too, would be interested in ordering if you can provide the info. I am only aware of two books about him at this point and info is so tough to obtain I gladly grab for anything.

With regard for Gies' work, I myself am only interested in his Munich period and the first couple of years 1918-1920 he was in Berlin.

I ordered an Ernsting catalog from the Morsbroich museum (about 200 pages, appears to cover sculptures as well as medals). I presume it is an early step towards her 1995 work (much more expensive). I find his work fascinating and am interested in how it evolves over time as opposed to just one time period (although it is your interest that caught my eye). I also see a book by Hoff, but it appears to be about 80 pages, I presume an even briefer review. I also came across:

Feldenkirchen, Toni : Ludwig Gies. (=Monographien zur rheinisch-westfälischen Kunst der Gegenwart, Bd. 20) Recklinghausen: Bongers,, 1958. 52 Seiten.

and a new book:

Die Kunstmedaille der Gegenwart in Deutschland: Medaillenkunst in Köln im 20. Jahrhundert. Von Ludwig Gies bis Karl Burgeff: Bd 24 (Gebundene Ausgabe)

As I said, I have the Ernsting book which covers all his work...about a $100 book but I was on a shopping spree at a dealers shop in Solingen-Ohligs Germany. He didn't have any Goetz medals available so I spent boatloads on medallists books. Anyway, back to Gies...after he moved to Berlin to teach his work became more abstract and then he moved into a flat medal with intalio/incised designs. Like any art, there are different strokes for different folks and it's nice to pick and choose certain period pieces from assorted artists. Had I to do it over, I would have probably just focused on Goetz' portrait pieces. I can't sell off all the others now because the collection is valuable more as a collection then as individual pieces.

Thanks for the added info though Bill...also would like to hear what the catalog contains once you get it. S

The catalog arrived.

Ludwig Gies: 1887-1966

Exhibit catalog from Musem Morsbroich. It includes seven essays on his scultpture, glass and mosaic work, governmental symbols, religious work, and an essay by Sunhild Salaschek on his medallic work. Ernsting covers his sculptural work including medals and plaques. The eagle adorning the metting hall of the Bundestag is his work. The postal eagle of 1920 is his work and his eagled were found on the Richs Chancellory of the Weimar Republic. 50 some add medals are illustrated in the essays and the catalog. I like his early work such as Das Neue Chaos and his Lusitania medals, I really like his portraits such as Dominikus Böhm (1950) and August Hoff (1952). In all, a varied and talented artist in a wide variety of media and settings.