The University of Mississippi Artifacts Collection

Taylor Medal

The UM Taylor Medal is the highest academic award a student can receive at the University of Mississippi. Two of the medals cast by Tiffany & Co. of New York are part of the University Artifacts Collection. Chancellor Robert Burwell Fulton’s Collection contains the original agreement between the University of Mississippi and Dr. William A. Taylor. The agreement established the medal on June 20, 1904, to be given in perpetuity and in honor of the son or Dr. Taylor, Marcus Elvis Taylor. Dr. Marcus Elvis Taylor graduated with honors in the Class of 1971, received his medical training in New York, and became a surgeon in the U.S. Army.

The first three recipients of the Taylor Medal in 1905 (shown) received the medals in 1906. Chancellor Fulton made decisions on the medals casting and engraving, choosing Tiffany & Co. in New York to design and cut the medals with a profile of Marcus Elvis Taylor. A.B. Griswold & Co.in New Orleans received the medals from Fulton for the engraving of the recipients’ names in 1906.

In 1905, Tiffany & Co.’s quote for the first three medals was $82 for cutting die, $25 each for 18ct. gold medals, and $3 for silver medals. For medals ordered in 1906, Fulton requested a cost per metal of no more than $20 as indicated in the contract with Taylor.

Featured in this display:

• Photo of Marcus Elvis Taylor
• Photo of Virgie Neal Davidson (first woman to win a Taylor Medal, 1906)
• Letter from Chancellor Fulton to Tiffany & Co., 11 May 1906
• Receipt from Tiffany & Co. acknowledging order
• Document establishing award, 20 June 1901
• List of Taylor Medal recipients, 1905-1910

Blasts from the Past in the Artifacts of “Ole Miss”

Featured in this display:

• Campaign for Ole Miss Award, Commemorative Block. August 1984-December 1986
• Colonel Reb Ashtray and Salt & Pepper Shakers. Sold by Carl Coers Co. (Col. Reb appeared in 1936 and retired in 2003)
• Ol’ Miss Cigar Box, n.d. 100 ct. Owner Ida Mae Coleman, tabor City, N.C. Made in Factory N. 478, 18 Dist. Ohio
• Promotional Coin, Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Mississippi. Colonel Reb and the 1972 Ole Miss Football schedule
• Ole Miss Razor Blades, n.d. Ole Miss Blade Company, Jackson, Mississippi
• Ole Miss Gameday Pin, n.d. Whitehead-Hogg, Newark, N.J.
• SAE Fraternity Mug. Monogrammed, Eric Dawson
• Gavel from the University of Mississippi Homecoming, October 1965

Medals and Honor Pins of Chancellors and Alumni

Featured in this display:

• Gold Pocket Watch, Chancellor J. Neely Powers
• Johns Hopkins Medal, Professor Christopher Longest (Acting Chancellor, August 1930)
• Silver Inaugural Bowl, Chancellor J. Neely Powers
• ФΔK (Phi Delta Theta) Pin, Chancellor J. Neely Powers
• Royal France (R.F.) Legion of Honor Ribbon and ФВK (Phi Beta Kappa) Pin, 1907, James W. Garner
• OΔK (Omicron Delta Kappa) Pin, Graham R. Hodges, 1937
• Oratorical Contest Award Ole Miss, 1920 Graham Hodges
• Handball Champions Doubles, Newman Athletic Club, Drane Lester and J[u]no A. Thomas
• William Jennings Bryant Medal, University of Mississippi, Best Oration on the Science of Government, 1921
• UMAA Best Record Award, First Annual Field Day, April 11, 1894, Claude Still