WWI INTELLIGENCE SERVICE “MEMORIES” BOOK

This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/31/2006

This is one book that should definitely not have been printed, at least while all the participants were alive. The 59pp. small folio sized book, printed on watermarked typing paper, was originally made and released only to the members of American naval intelligence in the New York Branch. Its stated purpose was to provide department members with interesting and amusing stories about the many botched jobs that occurred during naval intelligence investigations. In the process of doing so, it also reveals a great deal about the operations of naval intelligence during the war. Many of the stories begin with introductions such as: “Once while two of our better agents were listening in on the telephone conversations of two men belonging to the I.W.W. the funniest thing happened.” Each of the more than fifty stories deals with incidences that occurred in the field, and together they give a wealth of details on naval intelligence operations conducted in New York , including the use of listening devices placed in people’s residences and telephones, various forms of surveillance, censoring the telegraphs and mail, and everything in between. To make matters worse, in the opening pages the office’s former commander GIVES A COMPLETE LIST OF THE DEPARTMENTS OPERATING IN NAVAL INTELLIGENCE, LISTING THE JOBS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ASSIGNED TO EACH DEPARTMENT. He then goes on to provide A COMPLETE LIST OF EVERYONE WHO WORKED FOR NAVAL INTELLIGENCE IN NEW YORK, INCLUDING ALL OF THE DEPARTMENT’S FIELD AGENTS WHO ARE LISTED UNDER THE CATEGORY OF “AGENTS.” There is also a list of those individuals who were called upon to assist in special cases where their area of expertise was required. It is interesting to note that Thomas Edison was one of those called upon in “special cases”. It is shocking to realize that this book was actually made and circulated among all of the members of this department. The information contained in this book would have been useful to a foreign power for years after the War, in that it lists the technologies and methodology in use by American intelligence at that time. The names of personnel would be equally valuable, as post war intelligence operatives would almost certainly be drawn from the people who were already trained and employed by the wartime intelligence services. The book originally had tooled leather covers which have broken off the book, but are still present and could be reattached. All of the contents of this remarkable book are, still bound together and except for some isolated and uniform foxing, are in very good or better condition.

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