W G A Russell and S R Benbow.  HB. (Blue cloth with silver impressed titled cover) 36 pages + 10 plates of colour and b&w photos. 150 x 208mm.  Very Good - almost as new.  A history of the company in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham who produced metal pressings including commemorative medals. In its early days, the firm manufactured fancy jewellery and at the time of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee in 1887, A E Harris produced a commemorative medal in the form of a Maltese cross. The oval centre of the commemorative medal held a photograph of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, with heraldic designs on the four quarters, and on the reverse side a verse from the National Anthem. The success of this novelty was such that many thousands were sold showing a profit of £2,000 which is the equivalent to about £180,000 today. A remarkable achievement with the limited plant and space available.

The illustration shows an example of the Victoria Jubilee medal  (NOT included !)