Edmund Lape Scrapbook, 1920-1921: Finding Aid

Biography of Edmund Lape

Edmund Lape was born on January 11, 1900 in Albany, New York. Lape enlisted in the United States Navy in Albany on October 21, 1919 as a Yeoman, Third Class. After attending Yeomen School in Newport, Rhode Island from October 29, 1919 until June 18, 1920, he was attached to U.S.S. Oklahoma (Battleship: BB-37) from June 29, 1920 until September 6, 1922. On September 7, 1922, he transferred to U.S.S. Argonne (Transport: AP-4), remaining aboard until transferring to the Receiving Ship at New York on October 4, 1922. Lape was honorably discharged from the Navy on October 9, 1922, having attained the rank of Yeoman, First Class.

Description of Contents

The Edmund Lape Scrapbook, comprising 1.42 linear feet of documentation, spans from 1920 until 1921, and is the product of Lape's tour of duty aboard U.S.S. Oklahoma (Battleship: BB-37) during her winter cruise for combined exercises with the Pacific Fleet along the west coast of South America.

The scrapbook is composed of photographs, menus, magazine clippings, poems, and cartoons.

The contents of the Edmund Lape Scrapbook are arranged roughly by topic, focusing on ports of call visited by the ship and her crew, and shipboard life and routine, as well as other topics pertaining to the Navy and the Atlantic Fleet. Among the ports of call documented are Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Lima and Callao, Peru (including bull fights); Balboa, Canal Zone; Panama City, Panama. Specific shipboard life topics and items of daily routine covered include holiday celebrations, small arms practice, ship's target practice, ship's maintenance, sports and recreational activities, and crossing the line ceremonies. Other events and topics covered by the scrapbook include the status of various battleships of the Atlantic Fleet, transiting the Panama Canal, the destruction of the receiving ship U.S.S. Granite State, a review by President Warren G. Harding, the use of kite balloons and spotter planes, cartoons caricaturing the naval service, naval poetry, and songs of the Atlantic Fleet.

Located loose inside the front cover of the scrapbook are several additional clippings, photographs of Lape, and Lape's discharge certificate. Included with the scrapbook is the June 1921 issue of National Geographic, which features Herbert Corey's article "Across the Equator with the American Navy." The article, written during Lape's tour of duty, features many of the same images and photographs that appear in Lape's scrapbook.

Arrangement

The Edmund Lape Scrapbook is organized into two files by document type.

Access and Use

Access

Access is unrestricted.

Copyright and Permission

The Edmund Lape Scrapbook is the physical property of Nimitz Library. Copyright belongs to the authors or creators of the works, or their legal representatives. For further information, consult the Head, Special Collections & Archives.

It is the responsibility of the researcher to secure written permission to publish, reprint, or reproduce material from Special Collections & Archives. The researcher assumes responsibility for infringement of copyright or literary or publication rights. Please contact the Head, Special Collections & Archives for permission to publish and for further information.

Acquisition and Appraisal

Provenance and Acquisition

Gift of Edmund Lape Heffner in January 1997. Accession No. 97-02.

Related Materials

Related Archival Material

There are no other known collections of personal papers of Edmund Lape.

Materials Cataloged Separately

No materials have been removed from this collection and cataloged separately.

Processing and Other Information

Preferred Citation

Edmund Lape Scrapbook, MS 509

Special Collections & Archives Department

Nimitz Library

United States Naval Academy

Processing Information

This collection was processed by David D'Onofrio in August 2019. Finding aid written by David D'Onofrio in August 2019.

Subject Headings

Name and Subject Terms

• Battleships -- United States
• Lape, Edmund, 1900-1974
• Oklahoma (Battleship : BB-37)
• Panama Canal (Panama)
• Peru -- Description and travel
• Sailors -- United States -- Social life and customs
• United States. Navy -- Sea life

Genre Terms

• Manuscripts
• Scrapbooks