Napkin

Object Name:

Napkin

Object ID:

2018.007

Place of Origin:

Portsmouth, NH

Date:

1898

Description:

Souvenir napkin, Spanish-American War. Machine-woven white linen with fringe on four sides. 13 autographs of Spanish naval officers, the Administration Building at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and letter"C" embroidered on front by Josephine C. Dabney (1870-1956), Portsmouth, NH.

Handwritten in ink on a piece of paper attached to linen napkin: "This doiley was used at a luncheon / given by my father on Aug. 10th 1898 at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, to Admiral / Cervera and his staff, of the Spanish / Navy. The autographs are those of the Spanish officers. Father was in command of the Portsmouth Navy / Yard, while the Spanish prisoners were on / (over) Seavey's Island. Josephine C. Dabney. / The drawing is one of the "administration / Bldg." with the olive branch of Peace / across it. It was drawn by / one of the officers"

Autographs and notes written in ink on piece of paper; folded, four leaves: "A. B. C. / Pascual Cervera / Rear Admiral, R. Sp. Navy / S. R. Franklin / Rear Admiral / U.S. Navy / C. C. Carpenter / Rear Admiral / U.S. Navy / E. T. Strong / Commander / U.S.N. / (2nd leaf): Narciso Diez / Aefores de navio / Angel Cervera / Teniente de Navio / Eduardo Urdapilleta / Contador de Navio / RE Persons / Medical Inspector U.S.N. / (3rd leaf): Josephine Mortimer Carpenter / Fanny B. Shipby / Belle Vernon Carpenter / Reginald T. Carpenter. / Names of the Officers / and Ladies who were / at a luncheon given / in the Commandant's House, Navy Yard / Portsmouth, N.H. the / summer of 1898 / after war with Spain"

Material:

Textile
Linen

Dimensions:

H-16 W-16 inches

Provenance:

Josephine C. Dabney (1870-1956), daughter of Rear Admiral Charles C. Carpenter (1834-1899), commandant of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard during the Spanish-American War, collected the signatures of Spanish Navy Admiral Pascual Cervera y Topete (1839-1909) and his staff who attended a luncheon hosted by her father on August 10, 1898. Josephine Dabney later embroidered the signatures on this linen napkin used at the luncheon, creating a souvenir commemorating the event. The napkin is accompanied by a letter with the autographs of those attending the luncheon and descriptive notes of the event signed by Josephine C. Dabney.

Seavey's Island, encompassing 278 acres, on which the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard sits, is located in the Piscataqua River in Kittery, ME, opposite Portsmouth, NH. Camp Long, on the south side of the island, was a stockade named for Secretary of the Navy John D. Long (1838-1915), where 1,612 Spanish prisoners of war from the Battle of Santiago de Cuba were confined from July 11 to mid-September 1898 during the Spanish-American War.

Credit Line:

New Hampshire Historical Society Purchase

Subjects:

Spanish-American War, Luncheons, Souvenirs