1901 Series Race For Centre Island Cup Race, Second Place Sterling Trophy Bowl Award to Marcia, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, 1890's Article and Etching of Seawankaha Commodore, Larchmont Commodore, New York Yacht Club and Corinthian Yacht Club of New York
This a sterling silver bowl for the Centre Island Race Trophy won by the sloop Marcia which placed 2nd and so awarded. The Marcia owners belonged to the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club that time was located on Oyster Bay, New York They also had a land club at Seawanhaka Yachting Club that was located at 7 East 32 street New York, New York in 1890's.
I bought this bowl in 2004 from an auction house that was offered it. I was taken with it's most unusual script and decided I would bid on it. I am still trying to find the proper name for the style. The letters are written in an organic flowing style, unlike the period Arts and Craft style of the period but closer to the Nouveau which was taking off when bowl was won. It has element of nouveau, but with a organic flair. The closest I could find was a script called ribbon, shaded or threaded script, but this is definitely in a class of its own.
The inscription on the bowl is as follows:
SERIES RACES FOR THE CENTRE ISLAND CUP 1901 SECOND PRIZE Won by MARCIA
The unusual script spells out:
Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club
Bowl measures 9 1/2 inches across by 4 1/4 inches high and weights approximately 22 ounces. The bowl was executed by the silversmiths BLACK, STARR and FROST. It is marked Sterling and has a number 15 on one side and a hallmark of a shield with a fleur-de-lis clover.
This trophy was the for second annual Centre Island Cup Race. The year 1900 race had been such a success that the person that had donated the trophy for that race decided to offer a similar prize for competition during the 1901 season of Seawanhaka knockabout's owned by club members. the main trophy would be for winning the the greatest number of races in a series of seven to be sailed. The dates of the race would be June 15 and 22, July 6, 20 and 27, August 10 and 17, 1901.
Here is how the winner would be determined. In each race each yacht was credited with a number of points equal to the number of yachts she defeats, with one point added as a premium for entry. A yacht which start and does not finish or is disqualified will receive no points, but will be counted as a defeated yacht in assigning points to her competitor. In order to qualify for the series prize a yacht must start in at leas five of the seven races . No yacht shall be counted in awarding points to others after it has become impossible for her to qualify in this series. The record of a yacht shall be the percentage which the total number of points to her credit at the end of the series bears to the total number of points she would have received had she won every race in which started. At lease two yachts had to be present to constitute a race.
In addition to the trophy cup to be awarded to the winner the cup would provide for a second prise to the yacht finishing second on the same system of scoring and to the winner of each individual race the usual pewter mug provided no other prizes are arranged for . There was an prize for any crew that was strictly a Corinthian crew in all her races, the club presented individual Corinthian prizes to each member of the crew. Should the offer of the Centre Island Cup result in arousing sufficient interest the donor purposes continuing the gift annually.
This Club has a rich and historical past with a wonderful short history written by past Commodore P. James Roosevelt. He traces the inception of the club to present day in a most elegant and informative style. If you click on www.Seawanhaka.org it will take you to their beautiful website.
The following image is of the inscription side of the bowl. Visible is the reed edge at the top and bottom edge of the bowl.
This a sterling silver bowl for the Centre Island Race Trophy won by the sloop Marcia which placed 2nd and so awarded. The Marcia owners belonged to the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club that time was located on Oyster Bay, New York They also had a land club at Seawanhaka Yachting Club that was located at 7 East 32 street New York, New York in 1890's.
I bought this bowl in 2004 from an auction house that was offered it. I was taken with it's most unusual script and decided I would bid on it. I am still trying to find the proper name for the style. The letters are written in an organic flowing style, unlike the period Arts and Craft style of the period but closer to the Nouveau which was taking off when bowl was won. It has element of nouveau, but with a organic flair. The closest I could find was a script called ribbon, shaded or threaded script, but this is definitely in a class of its own.
The inscription on the bowl is as follows:
SERIES RACES FOR THE CENTRE ISLAND CUP 1901 SECOND PRIZE Won by MARCIA
The unusual script spells out:
Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club
Bowl measures 9 1/2 inches across by 4 1/4 inches high and weights approximately 22 ounces. The bowl was executed by the silversmiths BLACK, STARR and FROST. It is marked Sterling and has a number 15 on one side and a hallmark of a shield with a fleur-de-lis clover.
This trophy was the for second annual Centre Island Cup Race. The year 1900 race had been such a success that the person that had donated the trophy for that race decided to offer a similar prize for competition during the 1901 season of Seawanhaka knockabout's owned by club members. the main trophy would be for winning the the greatest number of races in a series of seven to be sailed. The dates of the race would be June 15 and 22, July 6, 20 and 27, August 10 and 17, 1901.
Here is how the winner would be determined. In each race each yacht was credited with a number of points equal to the number of yachts she defeats, with one point added as a premium for entry. A yacht which start and does not finish or is disqualified will receive no points, but will be counted as a defeated yacht in assigning points to her competitor. In order to qualify for the series prize a yacht must start in at leas five of the seven races . No yacht shall be counted in awarding points to others after it has become impossible for her to qualify in this series. The record of a yacht shall be the percentage which the total number of points to her credit at the end of the series bears to the total number of points she would have received had she won every race in which started. At lease two yachts had to be present to constitute a race.
In addition to the trophy cup to be awarded to the winner the cup would provide for a second prise to the yacht finishing second on the same system of scoring and to the winner of each individual race the usual pewter mug provided no other prizes are arranged for . There was an prize for any crew that was strictly a Corinthian crew in all her races, the club presented individual Corinthian prizes to each member of the crew. Should the offer of the Centre Island Cup result in arousing sufficient interest the donor purposes continuing the gift annually.
This Club has a rich and historical past with a wonderful short history written by past Commodore P. James Roosevelt. He traces the inception of the club to present day in a most elegant and informative style. If you click on www.Seawanhaka.org it will take you to their beautiful website.
The following image is of the inscription side of the bowl. Visible is the reed edge at the top and bottom edge of the bowl.
Below you will see several images of the unusual script that was applied attributing the bowl to the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club which the winner of trophy belonged.
Below you will find a scan of an article that appeared in The Illustrated American
This image below is the model room of the New York Yacht Club.
Below is an image of the Corinthian Yacht Club of New York at Tompkinsville, Staten Island
Below closeup of article above the model room of the Corinthian Yacht Club
The etching below is captioned : A winter's cruise ashore: Atlantic Basin, Bay Ridge. Far away to the eastward the angry sea beats against the bleak Long Island shore and the tiny craft fares not so well as her wealthy owner.
The 1890's etching below is captioned: A winter's cruise ashore: Model room of the Seawanhaka Yacht Club, New York. It is in this room that the famous Seawanhaka mess dinners are held on Saturday nights.
Close up below of the model room of the Seawanhaka
Article below showing 1890's Commodore of the Seawanhaka and The Larchmont Yacht Club
Below is Robert Center, Commodore of the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club.
No comments:
Post a Comment