Lot 491
[Roosevelt, Franklin and Eleanor] 1935 Christmas Gift to White House Staff. Handcrafted pewter match-box cover from The Forge at Val-Kill, 1½ x 2¼ in. with a Presidential Seal soldered to one side. The Forge was established in 1934 as part of Val-Kill Industries, a crafts style cottage business founded in 1926 by Eleanor and her friends Nancy Cook, Marion Dickerman, and Caroline O'Day. The business was set up on the Roosevelt estate in Hyde Park, New York, with the purpose of providing local farmers and their families with a second income. Arnold Berge was the metal smith. The Forge closed in 1940, due to war-related metal shortages and the dissolution of the owners' friendship. Due to the relatively few items produced by The Forge and the Roosevelt association, items made there are valuable.
Estimated Value $1,800 - 2,200.
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| Realized $1,898 |
