President Eisenhower’s impressive personally-owned and -used circular brass paperweight modeled after the official coat of arms of the United States, measuring 3? in diameter and .5? thick, featuring the detailed bald eagle raised in relief with an enameled patriotic shield on its chest, with a group of 13 golden stars representing the colonies set against a blue enamel background above. The underside is handsomely engraved, “General D. D. E., 1945,” with a Wm. H. Horstmann Company manufacturer’s emblem raised in the center. A black presentation base accompanies the paperweight. Includes a letter of provenance on a White House card from Delores Moaney, the Eisenhower family’s cook and wife of Sgt. John Moaney, who served as President Eisenhower’s valet beginning in 1942. In part: “This Great Seal is in raised 3-D effect, with red, white and blue enamel. On the verso it is engraved ‘General D.D.E.’ and the date ‘1945.’ The President used it for a paperweight. He gave it to his valet, Sgt. John Moaney shortly before he died.” This dates to an extremely important time in Dwight D. Eisenhower’s military career, as in late 1944 he was promoted to five-star general, and in 1945 he oversaw the conclusion of World War II hostilities in Europe and the transition to a new, stabilized government in Germany. A notable relic of significance to the discriminating collector or institution. From the Raleigh DeGeer Amyx Collection.
