Henry Ford / World War I

Other band measures 6.75" y 1.25" n.d.

Skyland, Virginia File Miscalánoous BusineSs,

American automobile manufacturer; founder and president of Ford Motor Co. A natural mechanic, Ford introduced standardization and mass production techniques in creating his masterpiece, the Model T. He revolutionized manufacturing with conveyer belt assembly lines.

[World War I] A war fought from 1914 to 1918, in which Great Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Italy, Japan, the United States, and other allies defeated Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July 1914 in a bid to reassert its authority as a Balkan power. Its determination was buoyed by the knowledge that it enjoyed the backing of its ally, Germany. But Serbia was supported by Russia, and Germany therefore confronted the danger of a war on two fronts, as Russia was allied to France.

Henry Ford's "Peace Ship" Fabric Band

Henry Ford's "Peace Ship" Fabric Band

Black silk band embroidered "Oscar II." in yellow block lettering framed by double American and Norwegian flag-draped shield on either side. In near fine condition. Minimal fading to one side, minor isolated wear to some embroidery threads, and a few scattered pin holes. The band, as folded and sewn, measures 6.75" × 1.25." Comes with superb provenance from original wearer, presumably a passenger on Henry Ford's "Peace Ship" mission.

Deaccessioned from the Luray Museum of Luray, Virginia.

Edgar Tremlett Fell (1895-1951) wore this band aboard the S.S. Oscar II, according it its remarkable provenance material. In a 2pp bifold letter inscribed overall and signed by Fell, he explicitly mentioned this band and described how it was used on the Peace Ship. Fell wrote: "When Mother came up the other day she brought me the Oscar I band, which I am enclosing to you for your collection. This band was given out to me on the Peace Ship at one of the large dinners. It was carried by me during the whole trip and worn at banquets in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany + Holland. We used to wear them across our dress shirt fronts. It is indeed most kind of you to put it in your museum under my name." Some heavy and uneven toning and a few pin holes, each page measuring 5" x

6.5."

The Oscar II was a Scandinavian-American Line steamer built in Glasgow and launched in November 1901.

American automobile tycoon Henry Ford (1863-1947) chartered the Oscar II to transport members of his private peace delegation to war-torn Europe in late 1915. Ford and other peace activists left Hoboken, New Jersey in December 1915, hoping that subsequent press coverage would force belligerent nations to parley. Ford wanted troops to be "Out of the trenches by Christmas, never to return!" as he stated at a Washington, DC rally.

Many progressive celebrities of the day were invited to travel with the Peace Ship, including William Jennings Bryant, Thomas Edison, and Jane Addams, to name a few. Internal dissent among activists, shipboard influenza, and lingering doubts about the mission of the "Ship of Fools" hampered passengers on its Atlantic crossing, however. Oscar II eventually traveled through the neutral countries of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Holland before its passengers returned to the United States in mid-January 1916. Henry Ford continued to pay for the project even though he left Europe early due to illness.

While there is no historical record substantiating Fell's claim that the Peace Ship traveled to Germany (its being one of the countries at war), Fell's account that he traveled through Scandinavia is consistent with Oscar I's known travel itinerary from December 1915-January 1916.

If Edgar Tremlett Fell was a peace activist on the Oscar II in 1915, circumstances had changed by 1917. Fell served in the U.S. military during both World War I and IL. Fell was appointed the official historian of the U.S.

Army Seventh Division in 1919; his account of that unit's participation in World War I was published in 1927. Fell obtained a PhD at Johns Hopkins University with his dissertation Recent Problems in Admiralty Jurisdiction, published in 1922.

This band came from the Luray Museum of Luray, Virginia. This museum, started by town resident Mary "Mollie" Zeiler Zerkle (1845-1933), safeguarded artifacts of mostly local interest. According to family history, nineteen-year-old "Mollie" nursed Union soldiers after the 1864 Battle of New Market. She married Lemuel Zerkle, and the two lived in New Market, Virginia until 1890. That year, the family relocated to Luray, fourteen miles east across the Massanutten Mountain range, where Lemuel had secured a post as Superintendent of Luray Caverns. Local historian Daniel Vaughn reported that the museum operated between 1938-1960, after which point the collection was sold at auction.

Gene H. Baber of Fisherville, Virginia was an avid antique collector. His collection included everything from Civil War letters to epaulettes, from early frakturs to vintage wind-up toys.

Provenance: Estate of Gene H. Baber, Fishersville, Virginia; Collection of Mary "Mollie" Zeiler Zerkle and Lemuel Zerkle, Luray Museum, Luray, Virginia