President Roosevelt’s personally-owned cast metal memorial bust of Will Rogers, measuring 4.75″ tall, featuring a head-and-shoulders depiction of the actor set atop a base that reads, “In Memory of Will Rogers, 1935.” Includes a detailed letter of provenance on White House letterhead from Lillian Rogers Parks, who was a housekeeper and seamstress at the White House for over 30 years, from President Hoover through President Eisenhower. In part: “This small metal statue of Will Rogers was owned by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He kept it on the mantel in the White House with his collection of miniature dogs and pigs. He was an admirer of Will Rogers and upon his death in a plane crash in 1935, FDR kept this nearby.” Will Rogers had campaigned for Roosevelt in 1932 and gave speeches in support of the New Deal, making this an especially poignant association.
