Large grouping related to Rear Admiral Joseph P. Fyffe (1832-1896), his son Joseph P. Fyffe (1874-1942), and his grandson Joseph Bacon Fyffe (1909-1991), all of who served in the United States Navy. Items include:

 

Items related to Joseph P. Fyffe (1832-1896): 

 

1. Arctic Medal. Silver octagonal medal, lacking white ribbon. United Kingdom, ca 1857. 

 

Obverse with bust profile portrait of Queen Victoria with the perimeter legend "VICTORIA REGINA." Reverse features a vignette of an ice-bound ship and a sledging party, with the legend; "FOR ARCTIC DISCOVERIES. / 1818-1855". Designed by Leonard Charles Wyon and authorized in 1857 by Queen Victoria to "all persons, of every rank and class, who have been engaged in the several Expeditions to the Arctic Regions, whether of discovery or search, between the years 1818 and 1855, both inclusive" (London Gazette, 5 May 1857).

 

Rear Admiral Joseph P. Fyffe was awarded the Arctic Medal for volunteering on the 1854 search for Sir John Franklin lost in the Canadian Arctic. Franklin led an expedition in 1845 with the HMS Erebus and HMS Terror to discover unnavigated sections of the Northwest Passage. Disaster struck when they became icebound in the Victoria Strait. Franklin and over two dozen men perished before Franklin's second-in-command Francis Crozier led the survivors toward the Canadian mainland. They, however, presumably perished in the wilderness. 

 

Franklin's widow pressed the Admiralty to search for the missing expedition and later funded private expeditions. Early in his naval career, Joseph Fyffe, then a Passed Midshipman volunteered on "one of the intrepid parties that had gone on like thirty others to find Sir John Franklin. He fell in love with the Arctic as the sturdy old Release under Commander Hartstene vainly searched the far northern reaches. As a result of this cruise, he proudly wore the pure white ribbon of Queen Victoria's Arctic Medal." (R.W. Daly. "Joe Fyffe - Officer and Gentleman." Proceedings. Vol. 82/4/638. U.S. Naval Institute, April 1956). 

 

2. Sixth plate hand-gilt daguerreotype with brass mat in frame. ca 1850. Inscribed to verso "Joe Fyffe / Age 18 yrs". A naval anchor insignia is pinned to his lapel. 

 

3. Sixth plate hand-gilt daguerreotype studio portrait of Fyffe as a young officer in uniform. Half-pressed paper case. He looks directly at the photographer's lens with a large anchor insignia pinned to the collar of his double-breasted uniform. The handle of his officer's sword is rendered in detail. 

 

4. Full-length seated albumen cabinet card portrait of Fyffe seated in a studio chair in uniform. 

 

5. Half-length seated albumen portrait of Fyffe. 

 

6. Half-length vignetted cabinet portrait of Fyffe in civilian clothes. Urbana, Ohio: C.H. Chowning. 

 

7. Three-quarter length albumen cabinet card portrait of Fyffe in dress uniform with epaulettes, his sword visible and bicorne hat in hand. 

 

8. L.B. Humphrey. Portrait of Rear Admiral Joseph Fyffe (1832-1896). Drypoint etching Signed "L.B. Humphrey". Visible 10 1/16 x 6 7/16 in., matted and framed to 14 7/8 x 11 3/4 in.

 

9. Portrait of Rear Admiral Joseph Fyffe (1832-1896). Lithograph. Visible 113 3/8 x 9.5 in., matted and framed to 20 5/16 x 14 5/16 in.

 

10. Loyal legion enameled medal. Obverse marked "M. O. Loyal Legion U. S. / MDCCCLXV."

 

Items related to Joseph P. Fyffe (1874-1942): 

 

11. Unmounted photograph of a naval vessel marked "126" at sea. 

 

12. American Field Service Medal. Original pin bar and silk ribbon. Obverse features an eagle and fighting cock flanking a flaming bomb marked with an "A" for "ambulance" above the legend "Field Service." Reverse blank. Scarce. The American Field Service (1914-1917) was a volunteer ambulance corps comprised mostly of college men from the United States who served in World War I.

 

13. World War I Victory Medal. Original pin bar and silk ribbon. Obverse features winged Victory. Reverse reads "The Great War for Civilization," with a list of Allied Countries and a fasces.  

 

14. Navy Cross medal. Original pin bar and silk ribbon. Modified cross pattée with laurel. Obverse with a sailing vessel. Reverse with crossed anchors and "USN."

 

15. Command at Sea breast insignia. A five-pointed pyramidal star on anchor flukes with a pennant bearing 6 stars. Denotes command (or former command) of a warship. 

 

16. Framed silver gelatin portrait of Joseph Fyffe (1874-1942) in dress uniform with epaulettes and visible naval waist belt buckle, included here (see 16). 

 

17. U.S. Navy waist belt buckle. 

 

Items related to Joseph Bacon Fyffe (1909-1991): 

 

18. Autograph letter signed by Joseph Fyffe to his wife Mary. Yokosuka, [Japan], 9 November 1945. 1 page, 8vo. 

 

"I'm still just hanging around, now & then picking up souvenirs."

 

19. ALS to Mary. Yokosuka, [Japan], 17 November 1945. 2 pages, 8vo. 

 

"Don't lose the letter from Admiral Halsey. There's a rumor that I should have another from Admiral Turner in connection with Okinawa, but I haven't been able to check on it." 

 

Joseph P. Fyffe (1832-1896) was appointed as a midshipman when he was just 15 at the start of the Mexican-American War, first serving on the bomb brig USS Stromboli in blockade duty. After a brief stint off the coast of Africa in the sloop-of-war USS Yorktown, he attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. He rose through the ranks and served on several ships until the start of the Civil War. Notably, he volunteered on one of the Franklin Search Expeditions and was awarded the Arctic Medal (see above for more details). 

 

On 16 July 1862, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and served aboard the steam frigate USS Minnesota, the flagship of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He continued his naval career after the war, retiring in 1894 as a Rear Admiral.

 

His son Joseph Fyffe (1874-1942) also served in the Navy, reaching the rank of Fleet Paymaster on the staff of the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War I.

 

Admiral Fyffe's grandson, the son of Joseph, followed family convention in both name and naval career. Joseph Bacon Fyffe (1909-1991) served in the Navy during World War II, stationed in Japan by the end of the war. 

 

A fine collection of material related to Rear Admiral Fyffe and his son and grandson who also served in the United States Navy. 

 

Note: This lot cannot be packaged and shipped in-house. Successful bidders winning items marked as being packaged and shipped by a third-party service are responsible for paying the third party directly. We are happy to offer complimentary drop-off service to local third-party packing/shipping companies in Columbus, Ohio.

 

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