Elinor Jessie Marie Hallé (1856 – 18 May 1926) was a British sculptor and inventor. She is known for her work on

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s and for devising the idea of creating

plaster cast A plaster cast is a copy made in plaster of another 3-dimensional form. The original from which the cast is taken may be a sculpture, building, a face, a pregnant belly, a fossil or other remains such as fresh or fossilised footprints – ...

s as

splints Splints is an ailment of the horse or pony, characterized by a hard, bony swelling, usually on the inside of a front leg, lying between the splint and cannon bone or on the splint bone itself. It may be "hot," meaning that it occurred recently an ...

for broken limbs during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Life

Halle was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1856. Her parents were Sir

Charles Hallé Sir Charles Hallé (born Karl Halle; 11 April 181925 October 1895) was a Prussian and British pianist and conductor. In 1858, he founded the Hallé Orchestra. Life Charles Frederick Hallé was born Carl Friederich Halle on 10 April 1819 in H ...

and his first wife, Marie Desirée Smith. Her father started the Hallé Orchestra. Her Franco-American mother died in 1866 at the family home in Chorlton. Her older brother was the painter Charles Edward Hallé (born c. 1846). Hallé studied sculpture at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

under

Alphonse Legros Alphonse Legros (; 8 May 1837 – 8 December 1911) was a French, later British, painter, etcher, sculptor, and medallist. He moved to London in 1863 and later was naturalized as British. He was important as a teacher in the British etching ...

. She was a member of the group of medallists known as the Slade Girls. Her medal of

Cardinal Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

won top prize at the 1885 International Inventions Exhibition. Hallé did the modelling for a number of important awards and this included the 1890 Royal Geographical Society Medal. During the First World War Halle volunteered with the Surgical Requisites Association. The association supplied medical dressings and had been created by Queen Mary’s Needlework Guild. Anne Acheson and Halle were both sculptors and they witnessed soldiers returning from the front with broken limbs held together with only wooden splints and basic bandages, it was suggested that taking a plaster cast of the limb. Then when the cast had hardened they could wrap it with papier-mache. It could then be placed on the broken limb whilst the bones knitted. This was inspired by the plaster of Paris in use in their sculptural work. The anatomically correct papier-mache splint reduced the healing time while supporting the broken bone. The idea of using

plaster of Paris Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

was adopted and refined over the years and is still in use today by the medical profession. She was awarded a CBE 3 June 1918, in recognition of her valuable work during the war years. She died on 18 May 1926 at her residence in Yeoman's Row

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

Works

* Cardinals Manning Medal * Cardinal Mercier Medal * Cardinal Newman Medal * the Royal Geographical Society Emin Pasha Relief Expedition Medal, 1890 * A medal for her father. * She made the collar for the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

* the insignia of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

and the order of the

Companions of Honour The Order of the Companions of Honour is an Order (distinction), order of the Commonwealth realms. It was founded on 4 June 1917 by King George V as a reward for outstanding achievements. It was founded on the same date as the Order of the Brit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hallé, Elinor 1856 births 1926 deaths 19th-century British women artists Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Artists from Manchester British sculptors Commanders_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire