Beschreibung:

Photographs, sword and belt rig, book and spyglass. Photographs include a single 8 x 10 in. albumen of the USS Wilmington (Gunboat No. 8) with a short history of the ship. The 1392-ton gunboat was approved by Congress in 1893, and placed in commission in 1897 with Commander Chapman C. Todd in command. She was on duty in the Caribbean during the Spanish American War, fighting a battle at Cardenas, Cuba in May 1898. From there she joined the South Atlantic Squadron. In late 1898 she made a cruise up the Orinoco and Amazon rivers as far as navigable. A second group of 42 (just under 8 x 10 in.) black-and-white prints in the archive documents this action. They show the men on board, the shores, villages, the "end-point" of the journey, etc. She then pushed up the Negros River to Manaos, Brazil, the largest city in the state of Amazonas. The book in the lot is O Estado do Amazonas (Brazil), 1899 and has 55 text pages, several pages of data such as weather, and about 3 dozen images of Amazonas, inscribed to Commander Todd on tp, a souvenir of his visit to this Brazilian state. The Wilmington went to the Philippines in 1901, and patrolled Asian waters until war was declared with Germany in 1917. After WWI, she became a training vessel for Navy reservists in Ohio and Kentucky. A small box of twenty-five 1.5 x 2.5 in images from the U.S. Naval Training Station in Great Lakes, IL documents this phase of her career. These are housed in their original box, and apparently were available at the Ships Store in Great Lakes. She continued to train reservists through WWII, and was removed from Navy lists in Jan. 1946. Chapman C. Todd was born about 1848 or 49 in Frankfort, Kentucky, the fifth child of Captain Harry Innes Todd and Jane Ballenger Davidson. Much like Samuel Clemens, Harry was fascinated with steam boating, apprenticing with his "idol" Captain John Russell Captain Todd gave up steam boating in 1849, about the time Chapman was born, to pursue other endeavors, but the waters seemed to run in the veins of the Todd men. The only information we have on Chapman Coleman Todd's childhood is a miniature portrait on milk glass in oval 6.5 x 8 in. gesso frame. Information about his career is minimal, also. Included in the archive is an approx. 5 x 7 in. portrait of Commander Todd in uniform, the only photo available other than those on the Wilmington's Amazonian tour. Todd was living in Washington, DC as of the 1920 Census, and died about 1929 back at his home in Frankfort, KY (he does not appear in the 1930 Census) according to ancestry.com. The archive is completed by his dress sword with Chapman C. Todd etched on the blade, along with Navy motifs, in a leather scabbard with two brass bands with knotted ropes that attach to carrying rings and a sea serpent drag. Maker marked Oehm & Co. Baltimore, MD. Wire-wrapped rayskin handle intact. Sword knot attached to handle. Includes belt rig with eagle on anchor on the buckle. In addition a 5-draw brass and aluminum(?) spyglass with lens cap is present. Marked Terce London late Ramsden on tube near eyepiece. A small piece of a turn-of-the-century Navy career. Condition: Amazon photos are recent reprints and near mint. Great Lakes photos also near mint. "Wilmington" photo toned, but in good condition. Sword excellent. Small cracks in leather scabbard. Minor verdigris where handle connects with blade. Belt buckle covered in verdigris. Paint flaking from spyglass.