Presentation Inkwell to Lieutenant Governor of New York

Antique silver and glass inkwell (square glass inkwell encased in a heavy silverplated base) with an inscription that reads “To the Honorable Harry Clay Walker, Lieutenant governor state of New York, 1919-1920.” Names of the signators are inscribed below the inscription. Intriguing piece of history, the piece weighs about 9 lbs.

Henry Clay Walker was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1919 to 1920, elected on the Democratic ticket with Governor Al Smith in 1918. In 1919, he was one of nine members appointed to the Labor Board, created by Governor Al Smith to intervene in labor conflicts, which mediated successfully in a few cases. In 1920, he won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senator from New York defeating George R. Lunn, then Mayor of Schenectday, but lost the election to the incumbent Republican James W. Wadsworth Jr.