Comprehensive archive of personal effects belonging to Lieutenant George Helms, a career Navy officer and the Chief Carpenter on the USS Maine when it exploded in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898. Helms enlisted in the United States Navy on December 10, 1894, and was one of 23 Naval officers and 60 enlisted sailors, as well as one Marine Corps officer and 11 Marine Corps enlisted men, that survived the Naval disaster, a catalyst to the 10-week-long Spanish-American War. In all 260 Naval and Marine personnel lost their lives as a result of the explosion and the subsequent sinking of the USS Maine. Helms served in the U.S. Navy for 34 years before his retirement on April 26, 1929.
His archive includes the following:
— Presidential commission signed boldly by Theodore Roosevelt, 15 x 18, appointing Helms as “Chief Carpenter in the Navy to rank with, but after, Ensign,” dated February 17, 1905. Countersigned by Secretary of the Navy Paul Morton. Framed.
— Presidential commission signed by Grover Cleveland, 14.5 x 18, appointing Helms as “a Carpenter in the Navy of the United States,” dated September 22, 1896. Countersigned by Secretary of the Navy Hilary A. Herbert. Framed.
— Rusted fragments of Helms' naval sword removed from the USS Maine when it was raised in 1911; these fragments are mounted to a display board measuring 24″ x 12″. Includes his United States Navy dress sword, by Jacob Reed’s Sons of Philadelphia, with original scabbard, which exhibits loose mounts and dry leather.
— Gold-painted iron gothic ‘M’ removed from a launch/lifeboat of the USS Maine.
— An impressive set of three dark-blue U.S. Navy dress coats with matching trousers; one coat bears the original Officer’s Uniform Shop tag, issued to “Geo. Helms,” dated August 14, 1922, and one pair of trousers features an inner Navy Supply Depot label, issued to “Geo. Helms,” and dated October 27, 1922.
— A high-quality pair of French-made epaulettes with gold bullion fringe, Naval button, anchor, and lieutenant insignia bars, and a black sealskin fore and aft hat, or cocked hat, with gold bullion tassels; these are housed in their original black tin carrying case, 18.5 x 7 x 8.
— A U.S. Navy officer's belt rig, approximately 40″ in length, which exhibits some dryness and flaking to leather.
— Unsigned presidential commission, 15 x 18, appointing Helms as a “Naval Constructor in the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant,” dated January 3, 1929. Signed by Secretary of the Navy Curtis D. Wilbur. Framed.
— Unsigned presidential commission, 14 x 18, appointing Helms as an “Assistant Naval Constructor in the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant,” dated December 4, 1920. Signed by Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels. Framed.
— U.S. Navy certificate, 12 x 10, presented to Helms as “Ch. Carpenter” of the USS Wisconsin, one of “The First Battleships to pass through The Panama Canal,” on July 15 and 16, 1915. Signed at the conclusion by Rear Admiral William Fullam. Framed.
— Six original vintage photographs: four of the wreck of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor, each measuring 8.5 x 6.5; a hand-colored 5.75 x 8.5 portrait photo of Helms in uniform; and a 9.5 x 7.75 photo of the USS Maine at sea with tugboat in background; individually framed to slightly larger sizes, with chipping to frames and photos bearing some paper loss and creasing.
— Two cabinet card portraits of Helms by the R. Weiss Studio of Brooklyn, New York, one colorized, 4.25 x 6 and 3.5 x 4.5 (framed); both cards are trimmed and bear some edgewear.
— A first edition of The Fate of the Maine by John Edward Weems, hardcover with dust jacket, published by Henry Holt and Company in 1958; dust jacket is price-clipped and bears tears and paper loss; some pages creased, dogeared, and annotated in an unknown hand. In overall very good to fine condition.
