The
awarding of medals at worlds fairs was an important tradition
that continued at the PPIE. People put great effort into their
products and exhibits with the hopes of winning an award. Companies
would sometimes print the news of the award they won on their
product labels for years after a worlds fair. It was quite a
badge of honor, and was used somewhat as a seal of approval
for consumers -- that the product that they were considering
purchasing was a quality product. Additionally, there were awards
given for art shown at the fair and for the exhibits of the
various US states and nations.
According
to "The Story of the Exposition" (Frank Morton Todd,
1921):
"The award system of a great exposition becomes a court
who's verdicts affect the public choice of commodities, and
the prosperity of industries involving millions of capital;
and through those verdicts the trade of nations may be seriously
modified."
"To institute simultaneous, and competent, surveys of the
products of civilization collected in an exposition, and to
provide judicial machinery that shall not only decide among
those products, but shall quiet appeals and reconcile protests
arising out of such decisions, and do it without suspicion of
influence or risk of important error, is one of the gravest
responsibilities of exposition management.
For, an exposition is not merely a collection of exhibits; it
is a collection of competing exhibits. And if forms a great
stimulus to producers in their endeavors to excel, if they know
that at more or less regular intervals they are going to be
able to get world recognition of their excellence from the one
tribunal competent to accord it. So the award system, far from
being a mere accident, and dispensable, is of the essential
substance of all expositions that do their proper work in the
world.
A properly administered award system calls into being a congress
of authorities and world experts, men who's intellectual attainments
are the latest developments in the arts and sciences, and these
men are asked to sit in judgment on the fruits of the world's
industry."
The juries for the PPIE consisted of almost 500 men and women
from all over the world. People who were chosen as experts in
all areas of science, art, and commerce. The International Award
System was separate and independent from all other branches
of the Exposition government. They wanted to make sure that
there were no signs of impropriety, and went out of their way
to keep the judging system separate.
Using an elaborate set of rules and a point system, there were
six classes of awards:
Grand Prize (Best of Class)
Medal of Honor (95-100 points)
Gold Medal (85-94 points)
Silver Medal (75-84 points)
Bronze Medal (60-74 points)
Honorable Mention (without medal)
The medals were designed by John Flanagan, and then struck at
the Philadelphia Mint. The recipients could have them plated
with the metal corresponding to their award value. Accompanying
certificates (also called diplomas) were given out as well –
designed by C.A. Huston and engraved by M.W. Baldwin. They were
printed at the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington,
on special Japanese paper that made forgery difficult.
During the PPIE, an amazing 25,527 awards were given out, including
20,344 medals and 25,527 certificates. And unlike some previous
worlds fairs, there were no lawsuits afterwards. (The 1904 St.
Louis worlds fair had five lawsuits filed, contesting the results.)
The award process was an enormous project, but an integral and
important element of the fair.
