SALE CORO "Amigos Siempre" Flags of the Americas Pin by L. GABA

Jewelry : Vintage : Coro

 

Presented for your consideration is a beautiful pin designed by Lester Gaba for Coro to commemorate the Eighth International Conference of American States which was held in Lima in 1938.

Measuring 2.6" wide x 2.25" tall, this pin features 21 enameled flags which represent the 21 American Republics. The flags are grouped together and adorned with a banner which reads "Amigos Siempre" or "Friends Forever".

L. Gaba designed this pin for Coro, filed for the patent on Nov. 17, 1941 and received patent number 130,836 on Dec. 23, 1941.

The pin was sold and the royalties were donated to the Inter-American Scholarship Fund- a great tidbit of jewelry history!

Marks: CORO, Pat. No. 130836

Remarks: Very good condition with slight gold-plate loss and white enamel loss of the left side of the banner and under the letter "A".

References: Brunialti's "American Costume Jewelry" pages 62-63, 64. Brunialti's "A Tribute to America", p. 52. 1941 Patent: 130836.

Notes on the designer: "Lester Gaba was a soap sculptor in New York and was asked by a large department store if he could produce some mannequins in a more stable material with the same detail and quality that he could get with soap. He created six astonishing specimens from plaster that become known as the 'Gaba Girls'. They were each given names and a party at a prestigious hotel where they were dressed in fine clothes and jewels, New York high-society loved them! The socialites also loved Lester Gaba who had taken to the eccentric habit of going everywhere with a sitting mannequin called Cynthia. Cynthia, elbow on her knees with a cigarette in hand, traveled by taxi and appeared with Lester Gaba everywhere- at social clubs, on carriage rides, and to his seat at the opera. Gaba required a team of 3 men to help transport her around (wooden mannequins are much heavier than the fiberglass ones used today), but despite these difficulties, Cynthia was beloved by many. Designers sent her dresses, Cartier and Tiffany's even lent her jewels."

Item ID: RL-657