Desktop magnifying glass given to Toi Bachelder by President Roosevelt as a Christmas gift in 1943, featuring a mahogany-colored leatherette covering embossed in gold with a presentation inscription, “Christmas 1943, To T. M. B., from F. D. R.” The glass base measures 3.75 x 3.75, and the device is 1.25″ tall at the highest point of the magnification bubble. Includes a letter of provenance on a White House card from Bachelder, in full: “The glass magnifier, with my initials, T. M. B, appearing on the lower left corner, was a Christmas present to me from F. D. R. I served him from 1933 to 1945. He was a great man. I miss him still.” Although President Roosevelt was known to have presented these 1943 Christmas gifts to several people, only a select few, such as Toi Bachelder, Missy LeHand, and Grace Tully, were personally embossed like this example. Bachelder, a fellow polio he had known since she was 14, was a particular favorite of the President, and he always took her along to Warm Springs for treatment. An impressive FDR relic in splendid condition.
