George V Silver Naval Presentation Box for Admiral Drace White, Retailed by Tiffany & Co.

Mark of William Comyns & Sons, London (1927), of rectangular hinged lidded form, the upper lid engraved with twelve signatures surrounding the presentation engraving dedicated to "CAPTAINE DE VASSEAU R. DRACE WHITE / OFFERT PAR / LES ATTACHES NAVALS A PARIS / LE 30 JUIN 1928," the interior mahogany lined with three removable dividers.

3 1/8 x 10 1/8 x 6 1/4 in.

From the Collection of Gill Phillippi, Morrisville, North Carolina

Admiral White (1877-1953) was well known in New York during the early 1930s as Federal Supervisor of New York Harbor. He was then a Captain and was usually called Capt. Drace White.
Admiral White graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1899, served in the Spanish-American War on the U.S.S. Wilmington, at the blockade of Havana and the bombardment of Santiago.
In 1904 he went to the Far East as a special American Naval observer in the Russo-Japanese War. Two years later he was made an aide to Commander (later Admiral) William Sims. From 1909 to 1912 he served as a flag Lieutenant and tactical officer on the staff of the commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet. In World War I he commanded the U.S.S. Orizaba and was wounded in action on August 18, 1918.
After the war he served in various embassies as a Naval attache, including those at Paris, Madrid, and Lisbon. While in Paris in 1927 he caused a stir by making a speech at the American Club's Thanksgiving Day dinner, advocating the American Navy being superior to those of other nations. This Lot is dated and related to this Naval Attache service in Paris.
He held the Navy Cross, the French Legion of Honor, the Spanish Order of Merit, and other decorations. Admiral White also had served at the American Embassies in Rome and Vienna, and as Naval aide to Marshals Joffre and Petain of France.
Retired in 1934, Admiral White was recalled to duty in World War II and served the Navy in intelligence work in Lisbon, retiring again thereafter with the rank of Rear Admiral.
Admiral White was the author of "With the Russian Fleet at Tsushima" (1906); "Leadership, " a prize essay (1920); "The Constant Bearing, Its Theory and Practice," (1922) and other works on Naval topics, and was the inventor of several gunnery improvement mechanisms. He belonged to the New York Seawanhaka Corinthian, and Larchmont Yacht Clubs.

Source: New York Times - Saturday, November 21, 1953.

Overall good estate condition; some light scattered scratches.