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A5 folded card telling the story of historical ornament Kaspar in the Savoy gold bar
The Savoy Hotel London – Kaspar The Cat Information Card
A dinner was being held at The Savoy for potential owners. Joining them for dinner was Kaspar, a 3 foot high model of a black cat, made from a single piece of London Plane tree. In 1898 Wolf Joel, a regular Savoy guest arranged a dinner at the Savoy. One of his guests cancelled at last minute which left 13 to sit down for dinner. They laughed at the old superstition that when thirteen were seated together the first to leave the table would be destined to die first. A few weeks later Wolf Joel was shot dead in Johannesburg.
The Savoy set about making sure that there were never 13 guests to dinner ever again. Kaspar was made to sit on the 14th chair with a napkin tied around his neck. Churchill was fond of Kaspar and insisted that Kaspar be present at every meeting of his political dining club. The tradition continues.
This card was made to entertain the dinner guests with Kaspar’s story.
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