Art Union Of London, A Complete Set of 30 x Bronze Medals; this set of medals, commissioned by the Art Union of London, was first planned in 1842 as 'The Medallic Series of the History of British Art;' not only as prizes for subscribers to the Art Union but also to encourage British die-engravers; the obverses of 29 of the medals depict the busts of artists, sculptors & architects (and one depicts William Wyon); the reverses depict an iconic example of their work (eg. Christopher Wren/St Paul's Cathedral, JMW Turner/'The Fighting Temeraire,' Sir Charles Barry/Houses of Parliament, Sir John Vanbrugh/Blenheim Palace etc); the very rare 30th medal commemorates the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887 (& also the Golden Jubilee of the Art Union); each medal is 54mm to 60mm with an average weight of 95g (Golden Jubilee Medal 65mm, 138g), all high relief & all virtually as issued (but minor edge & rim faults on Golden Jubilee medal); very few complete sets extant; lot also includes the article 'The Medals of the Art Union of London' by G K Beaulah (reprinted from The British Numismatic Journal' Vol XXXVI 1967) which describes the origin & design of each medal in detail; VERY RARE