Description: Extremely rare American presidential tribute pocket watch, examples of which were traditionally personally presented by the President of the United States in the 19th century to foreign sea captains who had saved American lives at sea. Consequently, numbers presented were relatively small and surviving examples in good working order are very rare indeed! The watch for sale is a full hunter pocket watch in 18ct gold by Waltham Watch Company. The beautiful presentation engraving to the inner case cover reads: "FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES TO CAPTAIN JOHNSON GRANT OF THE BRITISH BARK (BARQUE) G.S. PENRY IN RECOGNITION OF HIS HUMANE SERVICES IN EFFECTING THE RESCUE OF THE MASTER AND CREW OF THE AMERICAN SCHOONER MAGGIE DALLING. FEBRUARY 12 - 1895". Included with the watch is an original postcard depicting US President, Grover Cleveland who was in office in 1895 and therefore would have been the presenter of the watch to Captain Grant. 18ct Gold Full Hunter Pocket Watch: Weight: 114.2 gm. Overall Diameter: 50 mm. Diameter of Face: 43 mm. Maker's Mark: Waltham Watch Company. NOTE: I have tried to research the background to the presentation watch & I have discovered that the Schooner Maggie Dalling was wrecked on 12th February 1895 on a voyage from Pensacola to New York but this is worthy of further research. Also it appears that the Barque G.S. Penry was built in Canada in 1876 by McLeods Verft of Black River, Nova Scotia for Joseph William Penry of St. John, New Brunswick who was a ship builder, ship owner & ship merchant. However the engraving on the watch notes that in 1895 the Barque G.S Penry was British so presumably it had been purchased by a British company at some point from Joseph Penry. Stephen Grover Cleveland (18th March 1837 - 24th June 1908): An American politician who served as the 22nd and 24th President of the United States from 1885 - 1889 & 1893 - 1897. In doing so he became the only President to have served two non-consecutive presidential terms in office. Before he became President, Grover Cleveland was mayor and governor of New York State, winning fame as an anti-corruption crusader. Summary: Maritime bravery of heroism watches personally presented to foreign sea captains for saving American lives at sea are very rare and much prized. They rarely come up for sale and when they do they tend to sell for many thousands of dollars/pounds. Good luck! NOTE: I am happy to post worldwide but for this item I can only do so using the Global Shipping Programme & I cannot post personally.
Price: 9500 GBP
Location: Richmond
End Time: 2024-10-24T16:01:44.000Z
Shipping Cost: 0 GBP
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Item Specifics
Return postage will be paid by: Buyer
Returns Accepted: Returns Accepted
After receiving the item, your buyer should cancel the purchase within: 60 days
Type: Preseidential Presentation Pocket Watch
Theme: Americana
Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
