1777 (1890s) Benjamin Franklin With Spectacles Medallion. Terra Cotta. 91.7 mm, approximately 7.8 mm thick. By Jean-Baptiste Nini, aftercast by Emile Balon. Margolis Type 8. Mint State.Richard Margolis in his masterful 2015 reference Benjamin Franklin in Terra Cotta believes the Franklin with spectacles and fur cap to be the first of the Franklin portrait medallions with fur cap; it is known by only a single confirmed original example residing in the Musee des Beaux-Arts in Blois, France. Aftercasts in slightly reduced size by Blesois ceramicist Emile Balon were made in the 1890s, and all that appear on the market today appear to be of this type, making a Balon aftercast the only way to represent this iconic type in an advanced collection of Franklin medallions by Nini. Surfaces are a rich terra cotta red, glossy on the face, matte on the edge, and a bit grainy on the face, as made by Balon, and the first two digits of the 1777 date are still faintly visible on the truncation of Franklins bust. Conical hole at 12 oclock on edge for some sort of hanger, a feature not noted by Margolis for other specimens known to him, and the edge features the square cut as noted by Margolis for this type. Affixed to the depressed opening of a thick cardboard (5 1/2 inches x 6 1/8 inches) whose front is marbled, with a brass identification plate below the medallion. A fine piece that was undoubtedly once framed and that should be returned to a frame and enjoyed on the wall of its next owners study. From our (Stacks) sale of the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection, Part XIV, May 2006, lot 329. Acquired by Ford from Sothebys (London) sale of June 24, 1982, lot 120, via Daniel Fearon, then of Spink & Son, Ltd.