President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s personally-owned and -worn hat. Handsome black satin fedora hat, with matching band, is lined in white satin, with the liner tip labeled “Made in England expressly for Brooks Brothers, New York and Boston,” printed below a Herbert Johnson label. Brown leather sweatband is imprinted in gold, “F. D. R.,” “Made in England by Herbert Johnson expressly for Brooks Brothers New York and Boston,” and another Herbert Johnson label. A white ribbon tied in a small bow is affixed underneath where the sweatband and silk lining meet. A small reorder label is affixed inside the sweatband, with 151 K6, and CA printed on the label. Accompanied by a detailed 1983 letter of authenticity on White House letterhead, from the wife of President Roosevelt’s valet Arthur S. Prettyman. Mrs. Prettyman was also employed at the White House for a time. Letter reads, in part: “It gives me great pleasure to present to you a black fedora owned and used by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was given to my husband, Arthur S. Prettyman shortly after Pearl Harbor was bombed in 1941, by the President…The handsome black fedora was owned and used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is a dressy fedora and not typical of the type he used to campaign in…It is important that this most personal possession of President Roosevelt be preserved.” In fine condition. An exemplary and historic FDR offering.
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