President Roosevelt’s personally-owned lovely off-white alabaster like donkey figurine that he proudly displayed upon his Oval Office desk, measuring 6.5″ long and 6.25″ tall, featuring an elegant smooth finish and nicely detailed face. Includes a detailed letter of provenance on White House letterhead from Toi Bachelder, one of Roosevelt’s secretaries and a well-known member of his inner circle. In part: "Before President Truman moved into the Oval Office (after personal belongings had been distributed to family, close staff members and friends) Grace Tully gave us the opportunity to choose whatever we wished from President Roosevelt's desk top. My mother [Mabel Bachelder] chose the white alabaster donkey with turned head, which was symbolic of the Democratic Party. On the bottom of the base are several mfg. markings including the number 5216. This historical item was photographed on F. D. R.'s desk both before and shortly after his death." Also accompanied by the original typed presentation note from Miss Tully on a White House card, in full: “From the desk of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Presented to Mable Linda Bachelder on April 19, 1945.” Also includes a photo of Roosevelt at in the Oval Office in which the figurine is distinctly seen at the edge of his desk, close to the president's left arm. An exceptional artifact embodying FDR’s progressive politics as a Democratic Party leader, the symbol of the party that backed his immensely influential New Deal, which determined the course of American social and economic policy for the century to come. This truly quintessential historical offering is befitting of the finest personal collection or institution.
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