1901 Utah State Fair Prize Medal
Dublin Core
Title
1901 Utah State Fair Prize Medal
Subject
Medal
Description
Utah State Fair prize medal. Round, metal, bronze color with eyelet connected at top. One side has inscription, "Utah Soap Co., Best Tin Boxes, Laundry & Toilet Soap." Opposite side lettering reads, "Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society, Utah State Fair, 1901."
This "best of" prize medal serves as an example of the awards that were given to winning contestants at the Utah State Fair through the early 1900s. First organized by the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society (D.A.& M. Society) in 1856, the State Fair was originally called "The Deseret State Fair." Its stated purpose was to "promote the arts of domestic industry and to encourage the production of articles from the native elements in Utah Territory." Typically held over the course of several days, the fair consisted of contests and display booths showcasing products of agriculture, industry, animal husbandry, domestic craftsmanship, and even personal talents. In the early 1900s, the typical State Fair scene included displays of prize-winning livestock, fowl, fruits and vegetables, saddles and leatherwork, baskets, furniture, weaving and needlework, food items like native sugar, butter, cheese, and candies, silk specimens, metal work, sign painting, mastery of penmanship, and more. The winning contestants were often awarded medals, ribbons, diplomas, and sometimes cash prizes. As this medal reveals, commercial contestants were even recognized for their advertising and packaging displays. This medal recognized the Utah Soap Company for the "Best Ten Boxes" in 1901.
Overall, having been geographically isolated from manufacturing centers on the United States' east and west coasts through Utah's early settlement, many Utahns relied on the fair as a means for sharing ideas and learning new techniques to improve local and territorial-wide development. It wasn't until after receiving statehood in 1896 that the exposition was renamed the "State Fair."
This "best of" prize medal serves as an example of the awards that were given to winning contestants at the Utah State Fair through the early 1900s. First organized by the Deseret Agricultural and Manufacturing Society (D.A.& M. Society) in 1856, the State Fair was originally called "The Deseret State Fair." Its stated purpose was to "promote the arts of domestic industry and to encourage the production of articles from the native elements in Utah Territory." Typically held over the course of several days, the fair consisted of contests and display booths showcasing products of agriculture, industry, animal husbandry, domestic craftsmanship, and even personal talents. In the early 1900s, the typical State Fair scene included displays of prize-winning livestock, fowl, fruits and vegetables, saddles and leatherwork, baskets, furniture, weaving and needlework, food items like native sugar, butter, cheese, and candies, silk specimens, metal work, sign painting, mastery of penmanship, and more. The winning contestants were often awarded medals, ribbons, diplomas, and sometimes cash prizes. As this medal reveals, commercial contestants were even recognized for their advertising and packaging displays. This medal recognized the Utah Soap Company for the "Best Ten Boxes" in 1901.
Overall, having been geographically isolated from manufacturing centers on the United States' east and west coasts through Utah's early settlement, many Utahns relied on the fair as a means for sharing ideas and learning new techniques to improve local and territorial-wide development. It wasn't until after receiving statehood in 1896 that the exposition was renamed the "State Fair."
Source
2012-004-001
Publisher
Utah State Archives
Date
1901
Contributor
Utah Division of State History
Rights
Copyright All Years. Utah Division of State History. All Rights Reserved.
Format
1 x 1 (in)
Collection
Citation
“1901 Utah State Fair Prize Medal,” Utah Folk Arts, accessed April 26, 2024, https://utahfolkarts.omeka.net/items/show/88.