The Army and Navy Club, After an Official Reception
Harper’s Weekly, Vol. XXXVII—No. 1912, Saturday, August 12, 1893

Accession number:
1893.02

Maker:
Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum
(1849-1925)

Historical period:
1893

Type:
,

Dimensions:
H x W: 14.5 in. / 10 in.

Acquisition date:
N/A

Credit line:
The Army and Navy Club Library Trust Fund

Location:
,

Provenance:
N/A

Label:

This illustration holds unique significance to The Army and Navy Club, as it may be the only surviving depiction of the original 1891 clubhouse interior. The carved eagle, now the centerpiece of The Eagle Grille, is shown presiding over a smoking lounge. This lovely scene is crowded with officers relaxing after a reception, offering a glimpse into the vibrant life of our Club’s past.

The artist, RF Zogbaum, has an unusual and amusing connection to the Club. Zogbaum was a leading illustrator, journalist and writer who was featured regularly by Harper’s Weekly. The writer Rudyard Kipling, remembered for his story collection The Jungle Book, referred to Zogbaum in a poem he sent to then-US Navy Captain Robley D. Evans in 1896. Evans was President of the Army and Navy Club from 1897-1898. The opening stanza of the poem reads:

Zogbaum draws with a pencil,
And I do things with a pen.
And you sit up in a conning tower
Bossing eight hundred men.