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SIGNATURES
Identified individuals are represented by a biographical sketch, a list of connections to other signatures, and, in most cases, an artifact from the Ransom Centers collections. Help us identify more signatures by submitting your suggested identification.
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THE DOOR
Location on door: front, panel 2
DAVID WILLIAM BONE
David William Bone (1874-1958) was a captain and a writer known for his stories of the sea. Born in Patrick, Scotland, Bone first went to sea while still a teenager. He commanded vessels in the Merchant Navy in both World Wars and passed much of his career with the Anchor Line. Bone's writing often draws on his own seafaring experiences: the story, "The Man-o'-War's 'Er 'Usband," from Merchantmen-at-Arms; The British Merchants' Service in the War (1919), offers an account of the torpedoing of his ship in the Mediterranean during the First World War. After publishing The Brassbounder in 1910, Bone considered leaving his maritime career to write full-time. However, he decided against this when he heard that retiring from the sea was one of Joseph Conrad's greatest regrets. Bone was knighted in 1946.
An annotated typescript of David William Bone's "The Nomination Cruise," undated
This work weaves a fantastical tale about how Bone's friends, writer Christopher Morley, architect Franklin Abbott, and others surprise the captain by secretly chartering his ship for a two month-long world cruise for members of the Three Hours for Lunch Club and their friends. By the story's end, however, we learn that there is a reason that the details of this surprise cruise seem so grandiose and improbable. Bone's tale paints a light-hearted portrait of the challenges of a life at sea, where brief dockings and busy schedules leave little time for visiting with one's friends.