Original Lusitania cap tally
 

...pleased to aquire this rather historical item.
Bit Dusty condition , construction is beautifully done in fine bullion thread .
Best wishes
Steve

What a beauty and what a find!! Must be over the moon.

Thanks for sharing.

Vincent

Yes I am Vincent ,thank you , sadly the pictures don't do it justice ...such an iconic historical item ...now just need to locate a real Titanic tally lol , now that would be rare !!!
All the best
Steve

Steve for your interest this rather interesting pair all from the one family.

Jack

Without wishing to put a damper on your amazing find, I am wondering why a Cunard ship would have the both the Union Flag and the Stars and Stripes on their cap tally. Is it possible that this is a commemorative piece made after the sinking? The Lusitania sinking was certainly used as propaganda for the Allied cause as we know from the vast number of Lusitania medals produced.

I think that this may be an original tally that has been embroidered with the flags to show unity between the British and the Americans who were still officially neutral.

It is still a very desirable find.

Simon

It seems that there are very few of these tallies offered for sale and that they do indeed have both flags. Are their any known photographs of them being worn by the crew? The Mauretania had similar tallies.

https://caseantiques.com/item/lot-20...des-lusitania/

Hi Simon,
Thanks for your kind reply ,I have though seen other cap tally from the period , embroided with joint flags.
A similiar Lusitania example was sold in the US for in excess of 2500 US Dollars a few years back .
I have seen three other examples of the tally so far , two on LUSITANIA sites and one auctioned example all are of same pattern.
So believe the flags simply relate to the route.
best wishes
Steve

A superb item ! It is an old tradition of ships visiting foreign ports to show the flag of the nation visited (known as a courtesy flag).I humbly suggest that this tally was designed as such displaying the flag of its register ( United Kingdom) and the flag of the United States of America as a coutesy as it was a regular route.

Thanks for posting the pictures.
Regards
fred

This one may be of interest as it is similar. I always understood that they were souvenir items that could be bought on the relevant ship.

David.

Hi ,
Wasn't aware of that and would seem impractical if full size length. All evidence I have seen suggests these were worn as stated .
But then stranger things have happened !!!
Regards Steve .

Thanks.

What an awesome piece of history, and quite striking too. Congratulations!

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your reply. I hope you are correct about these ribbons being worn by seamen as it might increase the value of my Adriatic ribbon.

However, as High Wood asked in #post 6, are there any images of these being worn? The attachment in #post 6 shows ribbons with a note saying they have been collected by a tourist. Have you seen any examples of these ribbons having been tied, which would indicate they have been worn?

Would someone wanting a souvenir prefer a full length piece or a cut down example?

Regards,

David.

I had a full length HMS Victory tally, they do sell them as such in Portsmouth. Warrior ones too. I am making no judgement on the OP tally.

I have a copy of Robert Ballard's Exploring the Lusitania which has a few period photographs taken on board. Sadly no photographs of cap tallies being worn. There is an illustration of a 1909 dated First Class menu which has both the Union Flag and the Stars and Stripes either side of the Cunard logo.

The last voyage of the Lusitania was her 202nd Atlantic crossing and, if cap tallies had been sold as souvenirs, there ought to be quite a few of them about.

Haven't until now looked for any pictures .
Still chuffed with it as there really are not many about .Any items relating directly with LUSITANIA are rare and desirable ....iam sure it will look great with my German made LUSITANIA bronze medal ..lol if any one finds similiar bring worn it would be great to hear from you .