French fashion school medal in original box 1916

Description

French fashion school medal in original box 1916. Item 4809. This medal was awarded to Sarah Vitorge in 1916 after completing a course in corsetry at the French fashion school “Ecole Moderne de Coupe” in Paris. I have found mention of a Sarah Vitorge who was living in Paris between 1913 and 1919. She was born in Bialystok (now in Poland, but then under Russian rule) in 1893 and migrated with her brothers to Paris to escape persecution. The family changed their name from Witorz when they arrived in France. In 1919 she and her parents moved to Antwerp. On the obverse is the name O L Mattel and a rebus with the letters OLM is on the reverse, which I assume pertains to the engraver. The word Bronze and another logo are stamped to the rim.  The medal has a diameter of 50 mm (2 inches) and is 3 mm (1/8th of an inch) thick at the edge. There is minimal wear to the gilding, but there are a small number of very minor dents to the edge. Its original box is rather worn.