President Roosevelt’s personally-owned and -used appealing silverplate pickle castor set, consisting of an elegant sterling silver stand, a matching pair of serving forks, and two well-designed simple glass jars with flat faces and delicate matching stoppers, both expertly hand-engraved in elaborate and artistic lettering with his initials, “F. D. R.” The frame is engraved with an unusual square emblem with the initials "NASM," standing for Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij [Holland America Line], and the base of the frame is stamped with Christofle and Van Zwanenburg Rotterdam proof marks as well as various numbers, "GR 53," "90," "1," and "4." Both forks have three tines with barbs on the sides and are similarly engraved with the NASM symbol, but stamped on the reverse with Elkington, England, proof marks and the letter "V" displayed in a shield.
Includes a detailed letter of provenance on White House letterhead from Lillian Rogers Parks, who was a best selling author as well as housekeeper and seamstress at the White House for over 30 years, from President Hoover through President Eisenhower. In part: “This pair of jars and silver holder was owned and used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. When my favorite president, FDR, passed away in 1945…Mrs. Roosevelt said we should take what we wanted because it was all going to Hyde Park and this would be our last chance. This pair of jars and the silver holder was given to me by the First Lady…The silver holder bears some type of seal on the top. It also has a handle and two places to hold a pair of…silver forks, also bearing some sort of seal. The President loved the sea. This piece probably would have been used, at one time, while at sea. But, it was also in his office at the White House as well as in his bedroom. I ought to know, I had to polish and dust it often enough…Since they were President Roosevelt's I trust they will be preserved for future generations. It is a lovely combination piece." As this castor set is stamped with the Holland America Line symbol it certainly did relate to Roosevelt’s lifelong love of the sea, which extended from his youth—he learned to sail and was given a sailboat at the age of 16—through his White House years, when he frequently used his presidential yacht, the USS Potomac, for official business as well as leisure. That this is from the Holland America Line is also of note, as the forefathers of the prominent Roosevelt family were Dutch and settled in the New York area during the 17th century. An impressive offering of appeal to the advanced collector.
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