Previous Lot Next Lot

Auction: 7030 - Ancient, English & Foreign Coins & Comm Medals
Lot: 464

Eton College, Pelham Prize Medal, gold medal by William Wyon, 36mm., 36.7g., henry pelham duke of newcastle eton 1833, bare head right, signed on truncation, rev. five line inscription in open wreath of oak (BHM.1646), edge engraved in serif capitals matthew piers watt boulton 1839, minor copper spots on obverse otherwise extremely fine, very rare, in case of issue Estimate £ 1,000-1,200 Matthew Piers Watt Boulton, son of Matthew Robinson Boulton and grandon of the famous Matthew Boulton, was named after his grandfather and his grandfather´s close associate, James Watt. After selling the family house in Soho M.P.W. Boulton moved to Oxfordshire. He was a cultured man, interested in the Classics, translating Homer and Virgil, and also in the latest scientific advances such as photography and studies on solar heat and aeronautics. In 1864 he published ´On aerial locomotion´ in which he coined the term ´aileron´ (or ´little wing´) and described how such a device could be used to perform the function to which the modern aileron was later applied by the Frenchman Henri Farman. M.P.W. Boulton died in 1894 and items from his estate were sold at Christie´s in 1911.

Sold for
£1,300