Wednesday, April 24, 2024
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Last week, we gave you a look at the exciting and noble career of one of
the most notable of the Pulp heroes, Doc Savage. If you'll recall, we even
showed you a photo of the extremely rare Doc Savage Award - of which less than
10 are known to exist. Well, this week we'd like to take an even closer look at
that award.
The Doc Savage Award was a gorgeous medal charm given by Doc Savage Magazine to those who exemplified the virtues of Service, Loyalty and Integrity. The magazine, which ran from 1933 - 1949, decided that good deeds both large and small should be honored, and that those who made “the most of their opportunities” should not go unrecognized. They wanted to give appropriate credit to those who, like Doc Savage, were dedicated to helping people in need and to upholding justice at all costs. But unlike other similar medals of honor that were given to promote superheroes that believed in the same virtues, the Doc Savage Award was particularly meaningful. See, there was no magic behind Doc's heroic acts. His strength and heroism came solely from his own determination, quick thinking and self-discipline. As you'll recall from last week, Doc spent 2 hours every day in exercise and training, and he faithfully practiced meditation to keep his body and spirit sharp. Through research and consistent study, he kept his mind in shape as well. And, he strictly adhered to the Doc Savage Creed, which, among other things, stated that he “do right to all, and wrong no man.” All of this gave a human aspect to the Doc Savage Award that other awards just didn't have.
So, as you can imagine, getting the Doc Savage Award was no simple task. The folks at Doc Savage Magazine wanted to be absolutely certain that each recipient of this lofty award was deserving - therefore they had to be nominated by someone else. That someone would then fill out a special application provided by the magazine, which is in and of itself quite a rare and valuable collectible today. In the application, the person nominating would not only present a statement of why they believed their candidate was a worthy recipient of the award, but they would also provide the names and addresses of six others who knew the nominee and agreed with the statement. Just to up the ante a bit, the sixth name had to be that of a civic, religious or business leader in the community. Then, after review and acceptance from the Doc Savage Magazine Award Jury, the candidate would receive their treasured medal after about two weeks.
The Award itself was quite beautiful, and featured Doc Savage's face, with a noble stare, embossed (appropriately enough) in bronze. The top of the medal read “Doc Savage Award”, and the bottom had the words “Service” “Loyalty” and “Integrity” displayed on three separate banners. As we've mentioned before, it is an extraordinarily rare piece, and less than 10 of them are known to exist. Extraordinarily rare - just like the hero it honored!
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The Doc Savage Award was a gorgeous medal charm given by Doc Savage Magazine to those who exemplified the virtues of Service, Loyalty and Integrity. The magazine, which ran from 1933 - 1949, decided that good deeds both large and small should be honored, and that those who made “the most of their opportunities” should not go unrecognized. They wanted to give appropriate credit to those who, like Doc Savage, were dedicated to helping people in need and to upholding justice at all costs. But unlike other similar medals of honor that were given to promote superheroes that believed in the same virtues, the Doc Savage Award was particularly meaningful. See, there was no magic behind Doc's heroic acts. His strength and heroism came solely from his own determination, quick thinking and self-discipline. As you'll recall from last week, Doc spent 2 hours every day in exercise and training, and he faithfully practiced meditation to keep his body and spirit sharp. Through research and consistent study, he kept his mind in shape as well. And, he strictly adhered to the Doc Savage Creed, which, among other things, stated that he “do right to all, and wrong no man.” All of this gave a human aspect to the Doc Savage Award that other awards just didn't have.
So, as you can imagine, getting the Doc Savage Award was no simple task. The folks at Doc Savage Magazine wanted to be absolutely certain that each recipient of this lofty award was deserving - therefore they had to be nominated by someone else. That someone would then fill out a special application provided by the magazine, which is in and of itself quite a rare and valuable collectible today. In the application, the person nominating would not only present a statement of why they believed their candidate was a worthy recipient of the award, but they would also provide the names and addresses of six others who knew the nominee and agreed with the statement. Just to up the ante a bit, the sixth name had to be that of a civic, religious or business leader in the community. Then, after review and acceptance from the Doc Savage Magazine Award Jury, the candidate would receive their treasured medal after about two weeks.
The Award itself was quite beautiful, and featured Doc Savage's face, with a noble stare, embossed (appropriately enough) in bronze. The top of the medal read “Doc Savage Award”, and the bottom had the words “Service” “Loyalty” and “Integrity” displayed on three separate banners. As we've mentioned before, it is an extraordinarily rare piece, and less than 10 of them are known to exist. Extraordinarily rare - just like the hero it honored!
