Lot Essay
This drawing relates to a 25-piece silver punch silver service donated in 1904 by the State and People of Missouri to the USS Missouri. The battleship (BB11) formed part of the Atlantic fleet and served as a training ship during World War I. Nearly 400 feet in length, 13,500 tons and armed with four 12", sixteen 6", six 3" guns and five 3-pounders, the ship was manned by a crew numbering nearly 600.
When the ship was decommissioned in 1922, the silver punch service was returned to the State of Missouri. In 1947, the punch service was placed aboard the new USS Missouri (BB63), which played the historically significant role as the site of Japan's unconditional surrender ending World War II. The original service was augmented by another 313 silver pieces and was kept on board until the ship was decommissioned in 1954. Recommissioned and deployed in the Persian Gulf war, the USS Missouri was decommissioned for a second and final time in 1992. Today it is stationed at Pearl Harbor where it serves as the Battleship Missouri Memorial. The silver service remains at the State Capitol, Jefferson City, Missouri. (We are grateful to M. E. Weidenbach, Curator of the Battleship Missouri Memorial, for his assistance).
When the ship was decommissioned in 1922, the silver punch service was returned to the State of Missouri. In 1947, the punch service was placed aboard the new USS Missouri (BB63), which played the historically significant role as the site of Japan's unconditional surrender ending World War II. The original service was augmented by another 313 silver pieces and was kept on board until the ship was decommissioned in 1954. Recommissioned and deployed in the Persian Gulf war, the USS Missouri was decommissioned for a second and final time in 1992. Today it is stationed at Pearl Harbor where it serves as the Battleship Missouri Memorial. The silver service remains at the State Capitol, Jefferson City, Missouri. (We are grateful to M. E. Weidenbach, Curator of the Battleship Missouri Memorial, for his assistance).