Inkwell, c. 1901. Prizefighter Robert Fitzsimmons, a close friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, had been trained as a blacksmith and enjoyed using his talents to create small mementos. He made this silver inkwell for the president, who in turn presented it as a souvenir to his trusted valet, James Amos. Amos counted it among his treasures for many years, eventually donating it to the Theodore Roosevelt birthplace in New York. Lent by Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
Left: Robert Fitzsimmons, the boxer who gave Theodore Roosevelt the hoof ink stand. Library of Congress
Right: Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, by John Singer Sargent, 1903. White House Historical Association (White House Collection)
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Tip envelope, c. 1948. It was a longstanding White House tradition for workers to receive a gratuity from the first family at Christmas. Alonzo Fields recalled that President and Mrs. Hoover would give each employee “an autographed picture and an envelope with a crisp new $5 bill for servants of the lower bracket, and larger amounts for those of the higher brackets.” The size of the tip President Truman presented to Fields in this envelope is not known.
Lent by Mayland Fields
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