Rule Britannia
When King George V ascended to the throne on the May the 6th 1910, there was a whole year to plan and prepare for his Royal Coronation, which took place on the 22nd of June 1911. This included the production of any number of Coronation souvenirs, from booklets to teacups, medals to postcards, posters to tins: as mania for the great day took off amongst the patriotic British populace. Not only were Royal Coronation souvenirs sold in Britain, but throughout the British Empire, which in those days was the “Empire on which the sun never set”, spanning places like India, Canada, New Zealand and Australia amongst many other countries. Souvenirs varied greatly and accommodated every budget. Whilst companies like Royal Doulton made expensive porcelain pieces, this George V Coronation pin, affixed to a collar by a brass safety pin and decorated with a patriotic ribbon containing the colours of the Union Jack, featuring a photograph of the monarch on one side and Queen Mary on the reverse, would only have cost a few pence to acquire, and would have been produced in their thousands. Yet such ephemera was easily discarded or lost in the ensuing tumult of the Twentieth Century, and to date, this George V Coronation pin in my possession, is one of only two I have ever seen.
The theme for "Smile on Saturday" for the 18th of January is "flag unflagged", where the idea is to show the colours of a country’s flag, but not the flag itself. In this case I have chosen this little piece of memorabilia from the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary on the 22nd of June 1911. The patriotic ribbon features the blue, white and red of the Union Jack. I have photographed the pin against a tourist photograph of Buck House (Buckingham Palace) from a pack of twelve famous views of London. I hope you like my choice for this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!
Rule Britannia
When King George V ascended to the throne on the May the 6th 1910, there was a whole year to plan and prepare for his Royal Coronation, which took place on the 22nd of June 1911. This included the production of any number of Coronation souvenirs, from booklets to teacups, medals to postcards, posters to tins: as mania for the great day took off amongst the patriotic British populace. Not only were Royal Coronation souvenirs sold in Britain, but throughout the British Empire, which in those days was the “Empire on which the sun never set”, spanning places like India, Canada, New Zealand and Australia amongst many other countries. Souvenirs varied greatly and accommodated every budget. Whilst companies like Royal Doulton made expensive porcelain pieces, this George V Coronation pin, affixed to a collar by a brass safety pin and decorated with a patriotic ribbon containing the colours of the Union Jack, featuring a photograph of the monarch on one side and Queen Mary on the reverse, would only have cost a few pence to acquire, and would have been produced in their thousands. Yet such ephemera was easily discarded or lost in the ensuing tumult of the Twentieth Century, and to date, this George V Coronation pin in my possession, is one of only two I have ever seen.
The theme for "Smile on Saturday" for the 18th of January is "flag unflagged", where the idea is to show the colours of a country’s flag, but not the flag itself. In this case I have chosen this little piece of memorabilia from the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary on the 22nd of June 1911. The patriotic ribbon features the blue, white and red of the Union Jack. I have photographed the pin against a tourist photograph of Buck House (Buckingham Palace) from a pack of twelve famous views of London. I hope you like my choice for this week’s theme, and that it makes you smile!