This handwritten inscription, 'Souvenir of my cruise on the U.S.S. Columbia — N. Fitchelberg, Musician U.S.N.,' identifies the creator and owner of this photograph album: a bandsman serving aboard the protected cruiser USS Columbia (C-12) around the turn of the twentieth century. As the only directly identifying text in the collection, this inscription anchors the album's provenance and confirms the ship, era, and personal nature of the photographs that follow. Project: 218602