[CarltonHendricks]

Thanks Shawn, Paul, Jeffrey, and Matt for your kind words on the Everitt photo...Jeffrey sir...yes a T.V. show would be nice...maybe I should start pitching something...Mike Wolf said he pitched his show for five years before he got it started...Don't think I haven't thought about it...it's just that it's everything I can do to work a full time job plus hunt this stuff down...and I'm having so much fun!!!!...








OUTBID ON AN OUTBOARD
Here’s an outbid story for ya…just went down Friday…I spotted this c1930 outboard motor boat race trophy on eBay soon after it was listed…so it was nine days of getting ready…that is…due diligence research…and in-turn deciding what to bid…I watched it close while I was at work…I was emotionally exhausted after the auction ended and actually had to go sit down and take a break….What a companion piece it would have been for that Evinrude poster I got a few weeks ago...Inboard's are my preference...the big powerboat races are the inboards...the Detroit Gold Cup....and the Palm Beach regattas and all...nevertheless I've never seen a better outboard trophy...

WHAT A COMPANION PIECE IT WOULD HAVE MADE

Half way thru the week of watching it I decided to forego the usual snipeing and bid I think it was $1850...figuring let it get run over then i can forget about it and get on with my life...and yes I got out bid....but I kept thinking about it and decided to up it to like $2150...with a snipe bid...which got run over about the last few hours before it closed...Fineally it got to $3600...within the last 20 minutes...so it was do or die...I decided to go one last hitch and bid $3650...I was top bidder with about 10 minutes left...and boom...got run over again by two bidders...ended up at $3839.10

So what this is…is an outboard boat race trophy for races that took place in Winthrop, Maine on Lake Maranacook between 1928-30 or thereabouts…much of its history is right in the engraving…but to really understand it I had to dive into research…

ADDENDA 4/26/22 (meant to include this)
Before going further I should point out this type trophy is what’s called “presentation silver”…that is…there’s two basic types of antique American trophies…you have your typical silver plate stock cups ordered out of a catalog…Then you have a higher level quality trophy that are one of a kind made to order and are sterling silver…typically like this trophy the title, inscriptions and art work are cast in the surface…not engraved like catalog ordered trophies…Even the fantastic figural Spalding trophies as great as they are were of the catalog ordered variety…But this Woolworth trophy would be considered “Presentation Silver”…and presentation silver is sort of a different animal…if you get into it you’ll see very elaborate works that were typically given by...or to…the very wealthy…given for something the very wealthy wanted to commemorate…in a price is no object fashion…Presentation silver is a whole subject unto its self…for another time…but in short the grand works usually show up in Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Heritage…and generally were produced from about 1890 to about the late 1930’s…so this trophy would be from about the end of that era…I would guess by the 1930’s most of the old timer craftsman who had made the great works were retired...and the art died off…like I say it’s a story for another time….

As you can see it’s called the “Woolworth Trophy”...many of the younger generation may not recognize the Woolworth name…But there was a time when everyone knew Woolworth’s…or the official name F. W. Woolworth Company Five and Dime…The founder Frank Winfield Woolworth 1852-1919 pioneered the retail the store in that he put products out on the floor for customers to choose from…Before he started in business typically customers would come to the counter and request something and the clerk would bring it to the counter…I am not an expert on Woolworth’s…I just have a little knowledge from reading up….so fact check me…I could easily miss-up something…But generally from what I read Frank was very particular how his stores looked and operated…and he worked hard to fashion them his way…

F.A. WOOLWORTH I KNOW....BUT WHO'S F.M. WOOLWORTH
So back to this trophy…as you can see, prominently inscribed on the Trophy…It’s titled “The Woolworth Trophy” and was provided by “Mrs. F. M. Woolworth”…Ok so I knew it must be somehow connected to the Woolworth stores…a little research and I learned F.W. Woolworth stood for the founder Frank Winfield Woolworth…So who was “F. M. Woolworth”…A little digging and I learned it was Frank’s cousin “Fred Moore Woolworth” 1872-1923…In 1909 Fred went to England to start Woolworth stores there…about forty four of them…and was very successful…you can read up on him on this page linked here…But he died at fifty one years old, possibly from over work…His wife who gave the trophy was Velma Bailey Woolworth 1875-1934....I believe she was originally from Maine and returned there after her husband died…Fred and Velma had a son Norman Bailey Woolworth 1901-1962…From my cursory review…I think Norman may have given a different Woolworth Trophy for outboard races around 1949-50…