A large and important silver ginger jar made in Japan in the late Meiji period. It was sold in the port of Yokohama and the engraved inscription to one side indicates that it was bought as a gift from the officers and crew of the yacht Alcedo to the owners of the boat, George and Mary Drexel. The inscription reads:
Presented to Mr. & Mrs. G.W.C.Drexel by The officers and crew Of Their Yacht Alcedo At the conclusion of their World Yachting Cruise Yokohama, 1907
On the opposite side of the jar there is an engraved “D”; the yacht’s flags along with its name; and the dates 1906 and 1907, the period of the world cruise.
George William Childs Drexel, born 1868, was the son of Anthony J.Drexel whose success in the banking industry led to his being referred to as The Man Who Made Wall Street. His firm was originally called Drexel, Morgan & Co. and in 1895, two years after his death, it was renamed J.P. Morgan & Co. George Drexel married Mary Stretch Irick in 1891 and they were a wealthy, philanthropic society couple, and patrons of The Metropolitan Opera Company and The Philadelphia Orchestra. They owned the boat until 1917 when America entered the First World War and it was purchased by the U.S. Navy for use on anti-submarine patrols and as a convoy escort. On 5th November it was struck by a single torpedo from a German submarine and became the first U.S. vessel to be sunk in the war.
Height is 342mm
Weight is 2155gms.
