The New England Gas and Electric Association 1946 Stock Certificate Classic Nude

Description

The New England Gas and Electric Association 1946 Genuine Stock Certificate Classic Nude
This lovely canceled stock certificate was purchased for research and as an illustration for an article about the symbolism of the bared breast in US and world currency.
Here is a quote*** from the article that describes the bank note reproductions (for sale in my eBay store) and this genuine stock certificate:
"
The iconic breast played a small role in US metal currency, for example, with the Standing Liberty issue, but was more often seen on paper money, both federal and state authorized. One version of a
National Currency note (1864, Third National Bank of Syracuse)
has the distinction of containing half-nude women on both sides, one allegorical, and one in a historic illustration. This note has Ben Franklin on the left front flying a kite in a storm, and a Lady Liberty sans top to the right riding on the back of a giant eagle. The reverse is a vignette of “DeSoto Discovering the Mississippi,” complete with semi-nude Indian maiden. Interestingly, a similarly-clad Indian woman in the same submissive pose is seen in a vignette entitled “The Conquest of the Amazon,” on the reverse of a 1964 Brazilian 5 Cruzieros note.
But why does Lady Liberty sometimes have an exposed breast and sometimes one covered by sheer folds of cloth? Some historians have speculated that the country’s political climate determined her level of coverage. If the US was at peace, the breast showed, a symbol of peace, unrestrained and producing the milk of freedom. If the US was preparing for war, the breast was covered, protected for a safer time. As logical as this may sound, there are instances when the lack of clothing does not fit the political times of Liberty’s artistic creation. The answer is more probably that covering one, both or neither of Liberty’s breasts, or that of any allegorical figure, was simply the personal choice and preference of the artist or sculptor.
The famous 1896 Educational silver certificate large note
features a bare-breasted Electricity in a glorious vignette that also includes Fame, Jupiter and Peace. Grant and Sheridan are on the seldom-noticed reverse. Often called the most beautiful US note ever issued, this work of art celebrates the light that electricity has brought to the world. The fact that Electricity looks so much like Liberty gives the light bulb a secondary purpose, as a conduit for the light that freedom brings to all. This allegory was imitated. ***The
New England Gas and Electric Association, for one, employed a very similar device on their stock certificates in the 1940s.
The 1880 General Mansfield 0 US note
features a lovely Liberty on the left, bare of left breast, wreath in hand. These notes with this figure and the aforementioned Electricity remain popular among collectors to this day, and were chosen by the International Plate Printers, Die Stampers, Plate Makers and Engravers Union for their 2004 commemorative intaglio print.
Texas one of many places that borrowed the symbolism. A
Republic of Texas 1839 “Redback”
depicts a nude woman (alternately described as a maiden, a goddess or as Liberty) with arms raised above her head, as if she is dancing. The
Texas 0 note of 1840
depicts a seated Commerce with Lone Star shield at her side and the sea at her back. Except for the bare breasts and lack of helmet, she would closely resemble England’s warrior maiden Britannia that appeared on the currency of Great Britain at the same time."
(Parts of the rest of the original article are re-printed below with permission and is copyrighted. The author is Rita Laws.)
"
The Greco-Roman artistic tradition, which heavily influenced Europe, and in turn, North and South America, gave us the allegorical female figure. Whether walking or flying, standing or seated, the barely clothed maiden in flowing robes represents that which is good and noble. On US medals and currency, you can find allegorical females that stand in for America (Columbia), Agriculture, Navigation, Industry, Electricity, Hope, Peace, Victory, Justice, Commerce, and more. The most famous example of any allegorical woman stands in New York Harbor, a giant statue by the name of Liberty.
Ben’s Medals
Ben Franklin played an important role in bringing this influence to America. He was in France when the first medals were ordered by Congress. The United States actually created medals for its military heroes before ever producing currency. Franklin recruited and retained the top French medallic sculptors of the day like Duvivier, Gatteaux, and Dupre, to design the first American medals. All of these men were fluent in the classical style and used the allegorical female frequently. Thomas Jefferson went to Paris next, and completed Franklin’s work. Jefferson brought seven completed medals back to America upon his return in 1789.
Half of the ten medal replica set of “America’s First Medals” made by the US Mint for the 1976 Bicentennial contains an allegorical female, four of whom display one exposed breast. The fifth woman is nude above the waist (one breast visible) except for a quiver strap across her chest. These females both winged and grounded represent either America or Victory. The medals were awarded to: Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, Brigadier General Daniel Morgan, Lieutenant Colonel William A. Washington, Lieutenant Colonel John Eager Howard, and Major General Nathaniel Greene.
Ancient Symbolism
The exact symbolism of the bare breast depends on the context of the art. Pre-Christianity, it meant sacred power, wisdom, and fertility. Paintings of the Madonna nursing the Christ Child stressed the nurturing nature of the breast. In India, a pearl necklace on the breast of a goddess is symbolic of drops of milk that sustain the children of the earth. The Greek goddess of fertility, Gaia, is portrayed with the mountains as her breasts, a womb of caverns, and the earth’s waters, the milk of life. On issues of the world, the bare breast represents democracy, freedom, peace, motherhood, nurturing, protection, innocence, and nature. Exposed breasts can also be cultural, historical, and sports-related.
In some cases, the breast compliments military power and strength. America’s Liberty, England’s Britannia, France’s Marianne, and Italy’s Roma are all are strong allegorical females whose origins go back to warrior goddesses like Athena and Minerva. All have bared a breast on occasion while otherwise outfitted for war.
So why has this All-American symbol disappeared from our money? Numismatic researchers have failed to turn up any evidence of a public outcry over decency. Indeed, logic dictates that no public objection could have existed. Instead, history points to the symbolic breast merely slowly but inexorably going “out of style,” culturally and artistically speaking.
Let’s look at the era. The 1916 Standing Liberty bare breast issue was minted during the Art Deco period (circa 1910-1939) when the nation was virtually awash in artistic nudity. From the early Art Nouveau full-bodied nudes of flowing hair and robes, to the braless low-cut flapper dresses of the Roaring 20s, to the sleek lithe Art Deco female nude of poster, magazine cover, ceramics and home décor, skin was in. Tasteful nudity was stylish; it was sophisticated. It was everywhere. Many new money designs around the world minted during this period reflected the Art Deco “look.”
America embraced this French school of design (the term Art Deco comes from the 1925 Paris International Exposition of Decorative Arts) that created a fusion of fine and decorative arts and then gave it a New World flair. Industrial design, mass production and the influence of European artists fleeing Germany in the 1930s were just three of the influences. War, however, would have a much greater impact.
World War II arrived and with it, shortages, rationing, and a whole new role for women on the homefront and in the military. Many things in American culture changed and the symbolic breast was not spared. The thin wispy nude maiden walking her just-as-sleek greyhound was replaced by “Rosie the Riveter,” the realistic slightly muscular can-do image with rolled up sleeves who is practical, hard-working, and appropriately clothed for the job. Artistic nudity now seemed an extravagance in a re-building economy; it became much less of a cultural given and has not yet made a comeback.
In a strange combination of changes, the bosom simultaneously became less visible and functional and much sexier in the decades after WWII. Censorship groups, trying to keep overt sexual content out of television programming succeeded in banning the breast completely, regardless of context. A new magazine called Playboy focused almost exclusively on the breast as sex toy since full nudity was taboo in newsstand pornography at that time. As presidential dollars replaced the artistic large notes, a whole generation of boys grew up seeing bare breasts only in lurid centerfolds. Little girls dreamed of one day having outrageously disproportional breasts like those on their Barbie dolls.
With the newfound popularity of hospital birth, development of commercial baby formula, and a rapid decline in breastfeeding, the maternal nurturing work of the breast was forgotten, as well. Beginning with the 1950s, it was a rare sight to see a woman breastfeed in public. In some states to this day, a mother nursing outside her home can be fined for public indecency. The naked bosom in art, currency and public nursing, became a dinosaur. Our culture suddenly preferred, almost demanded that the breast be construed as sexual, and sexual alone.
The Breast and Culture
Fortunately, North America is unique in this nearly-obsessive sexualizing of the breast. It is very different in Europe, and in other parts of the world like Japan and Africa.  European women frequently go topless on beaches. At nudist beaches, the atmosphere is non-sexual. The sauna culture in some European countries creates an environment where children are comfortable with nudity in the context of health and cleanliness. Both genders bathe together in public baths in Japan. Isolated tribes in hot climates wear very little clothing. In these situations, the breast is not sexual.
In fact, researchers have found that the only feminine trait that is universally sexy, regardless of culture, is curviness. Several research studies have found that the initial attraction for most men is a female waist that is roughly one-third smaller than the hips, and an overall body shape that is slightly plump or Rubenesque. In other words, the classic Marilyn Monroe and Sophia Loren figure that is full and curvy. The reason is evolutionary. These characteristics are associated with good health and an increased ability to conceive, bear healthy children, and create copious amounts of milk.
This also reinforces the belief of so many numismatic researchers that the unclothed Liberty was never meant to be viewed in a sensual manner. Lady Liberty has little in common with Marilyn Monroe. The waistlines of our allegorical figures are rarely visible beneath their flowing robes. Their poses are dramatic, not sultry.
Corruption of a Tale of Courage
America’s current attitude about the breast as sexual has unfortunately corrupted a wonderful legend depicted on tokens and currency for hundreds of years, that of Lady Godiva. You can buy silver rounds and so-called “art bars” today that depict the nude woman astride a horse looking more like a bewigged topless dancer than anything else.
While the story is probably only a legend, it is a timeless tale of courage, not an equine striptease. The Lady Godiva was married to the most powerful man in her village. She was a patron of the arts and very much wanted the people to have more access to classic art. She also sought to find some tax relief for them. When she asked her husband for help with these objectives, he teased her. He remarked on her great love of Greco-Roman nudity and said he would lower taxes if she rode naked as an artistic display of the beauty of the female form. This she did proudly with no shame, head held high, and proved her point well. The taxes were lowered.
Is Breast Best?
Examining our coinage and paper money history is an efficient way to understand the American view of the female bust because a country’s money design is a mirror of its culture. Happily, today’s money trends give us cause to hope. We are looking backward as well as forward for inspiration when it comes to currency designs. And the success of the US Mint’s nostalgic coinage and currency sets, the Buffalo dollar and the Indian Peace Medal nickel are proof that collectors like this dance with tradition. Slowly, we are coming back to a recognition of the great beauty of our nation’s allegorical ladies. Maybe it is just a matter of time before the Standing Liberty issue and the 1896 Educational note are made again. Many numismatists hold that these are among the most gorgeous and meaningful designs we’ve ever had.
More good news for the breast. Breastfeeding rates are up. Thirty-six states have now passed some kind of law protecting a baby’s right to drink mother’s milk anywhere. Television is slowly realizing that a total bust ban is silly. Censors have made exceptions by looking at the situation in which the breast is exposed, including bathing, history, and medical scenarios. In 1973, censors allowed a PBS televised play to show a bare female breast in a post-sauna shower. In 1977, an exception was made for the ground-breaking mini-series called “Roots,” and again in 1994 for a network TV program about a woman’s battle with breast cancer. And in 2002, the uncovered breast of a female cadaver was part of a crime drama.
Is the bare breast about to be released from its one-dimensional prison cell of sexual allure? Will its amazing symbolism adorn our money again? Hope in this regard, like Liberty’s Sweet Milk of Freedom, springs eternal." (end of excerpt, all rights reserved)
-
Rita Laws, Ph.D.
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