USS CHARLESTON - a study for a Wills cigarette card
ArtistAttributed to
John Allcot
(Australian, 1888 - 1973)
Date1908 - 1911
Object number00004719
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour on paper
DimensionsOverall: 144 x 220 x 2 mm, 50 g
Copyright© Allcot Trust
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionThis watercolour of USS CHARLESTON is one of a series of watercolours which were reproduced on Wills 'United States Warship' series of 25 cigarette cards. Attributed to the Australian artist John Allcot, these paintings were most likely inspired by the visit of the Great White Fleet to Australia in 1908.HistoryLaunched on 23 January 1904, USS CHARLESTON was a St. Louis-class semi armoured cruiser in the United States Navy. It made up the Third Division of the Pacific Fleet, which greeted the Great White Fleet when it reached San Francisco in May 1908.
In December 1907 United States President Theodore Roosevelt sent a US Atlantic Battle Fleet of 16 battleships on a 14 month goodwill cruise around the world. The fleet was a chance for the Navy to practice seamanship and express America's world power. Roosevelt was also concerned about rising Japanese aggression and their expansionist foreign policy. The cruise would be a political and public relations exercise to build domestic support for more naval construction.
Led by the flagship, USS CONNECTICUT, the Great White Fleet as it became known, consisted of 16 battleships painted white, as was the practice of all US Navy ships in times of peace. The ships sailed in four divisions of four ships each. Early in the voyage the order of the ships was altered to allow the best-looking vessels to be at the front of the fleet. The cruise incorporated six continents, 26 countries and 32 ports with 614 officers and 13,504 crew. It consumed 435,000 tons of coal, more than any other naval expedition and was the largest fleet to ever accomplish a circumnavigation of the globe.
Australia was not originally on the itinerary route of the Great White Fleet, who only decided to visit after receiving a direct invitation from the Prime Minister Alfred Deakin. One quarter of the Australian population, over one million people, saw the Great White Fleet during its three-week visit to Sydney, Melbourne and Albany. Public holidays were declared and enthusiastic crowds flocked to see the ships and parades.
The practice of adding cards as reinforcing in paper packets of cigarettes started in the USA in the 1880s in order to prevent the cigarettes from becoming crushed. Advertising details were put on the cards, and they eventually featured illustrations which were released in series, becoming highly collectible. WD & HO Wills, part of the Imperial Tobacco Company, were the British pioneers of cigarette cards, starting the practice in about 1887. The first general interest set was issued in 1895 and in 1897 they began adding short notes on the reverse. By about 1901 hundreds of tobacco companies were producing their own series, which ranged in size from several to the hundreds. Aside from women, military subjects were the most common themes on cigarette cards, appealing to the high proportion of male smokers before World War I. Today cigarette cards are regarded as highly collectable, particularly if the series is complete.SignificanceThe visit of the Atlantic Fleet to Australia in 1908 aroused a new interest in the ironclad pre-dreadnought navy of the United States. Although a vast array of memorabilia and souveneirs were produced, there are few original watercolours relating to the Fleets visit. This painting of USS CHARLESTON is a rare example.
Along with the original fact sheet, this watercolour study highlights the process of designing a series of cigarette cards, and complements the cigarette cards held in the museum’s collection.
