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Auction: 326 - The Numismatic Collector's Series Sale
Lot: 593

"U.S.S. Leviathan" Collection of Vaughan Veazey Woodward, USN:
a) Leather case with dress fore & aft hat, epaulettes with commander's silver oak leaves, two dress sword belts and hangers;
b) Two photographs (reprints) of Lt. Woodward - on deck of the Leviathan" with General Pershing, standing amid war ruins somewhere in France, along with Negatives strip;
c) 7 ½ x 8 ¼ glossy artistic rendering of the Leviathan at sea;
d) "The World's Greatest Ship - Leviathan" Volume I with dedication to Commander Woodward's son, Vaughan H. Woodward by the author Frank O. Braynard along with correspondence between the two
Also: a group of 5 postcards, ca. 1917 of the U.S.S. Leviathan (at sea and onboard activities including boxing match), stereoscope card of the ship, Hammock/Mess Occupancy card (Section B), and postcard of the ship issued by the Jewish Welfare Board and "The Wonder Book of Ships" belonging to Commander Woodward's son -- "Skipper Vaugh Hobson Woodward" (in pencil on Plate listing page).
V.V. Woodward was born in Charleston, WV and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1907. After the U.S. declared war on Germany in April 1917, the Hamburg-American Line ship, Vaterland was commandeered by the War Department from its moorings in Hoboken, NJ. Lt. Woodward was placed in charge of organizing and training the newly re-named U.S.S. Leviathan's engineering department. He served on 19 roundtrip Atlantic crossings. On one crossing, the Leviathan carried 14,416 troops to France - more people than had ever before traveled on a single ship. One out of every 20 U.S. troops serving overseas in WWI, in fact, were ferried across on the Leviathan.
For his service aboard the Leviathan, Commander Woodward was awarded the Navy Cross and a Presidential Citation which was presented by President Woodward Wilson. Woodward retired from the Navy in 1929, his last vessel being the U.S.S. Tennessee.
The hat (with maker's tag inside: F.J. Schmidt Co., Annapolis), pair of epaulettes and sword belts and hangers in excellent condition, the leather case with wear and lid separated, the postcards etc. Fine, the Leviathan book Very Good, the Wonder Book Good with cloth separating at spine and torn frontpage.