President Roosevelt’s personally-owned and -worn off-white cotton tank-top undershirt made by Lord & Taylor, the well-known upscale store in New York and Washington, DC. The manufacturer's tag is sewn into the collar area, below which is a small white tag embroidered in red with the president’s name, “F. D. Roosevelt." Includes a detailed letter of provenance on White House letterhead from the wife of Arthur S. Prettyman, who had served as Roosevelt’s valet from 1939 until his death in 1945, and continued to work for President Truman until he left office, in 1953. In part: “It is my pleasure to present to you this tank-top undershirt that was owned and used by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. My husband, Arthur S. Prettyman, was a personal Valet to the President. Arthur brought it from Warm Springs, GA, immediately after the death of the President on April 12, 1945. He was with the President on that final trip…This tank-top undershirt is of fine quality cotton and was from Lord & Taylor, 'The Man's Shop,' New York. It has the department store label sewn at the top and FDR's usual cotton laundry label…The shirt is a Henley-style button-top neck with a cotton reinforced placket and four buttons. Arthur cherished any item owned and/or worn by the President and always tried to preserve them." A poignant, personally-worn item from Roosevelt’s final days. From the Raleigh DeGeer Amyx Collection.
