Twenty-Five (25) late 19th and early 20th century political items, including 1 Theodore Roosevelt Button and 2 Taft Signing Pens, all from the collection of Fred Dennett, 32nd Commissioner of the General Land Office, 1908-1913. 1st item: Theodore Roosevelt cast metal pin, comprised of a round button depicting Roosevelt in his military uniform against a gold ground, housed in a decorative frame with one red and one blue grosgrain ribbon. Label reading "The Whitehead and Hoag Company, Newark, N.J., U.S.A., Pat. April 14, 1896, July 21, 1896" en verso. 4" H x 1 1/2" W. 2nd item: Fountain Pen used by President William Howard Taft to sign bills at the close of the Sixty-First Congress. Includes typed note on stationery of the Office of the Commissioner, Department of the Interior, General Land Office, Washington, D.C., reading "February 26, 1913. Pen used by the President of the United States, Wm. H. Taft, March 4, 1909, in signing sundry bills at the close of the Sixty-first Congress, in the President's room at the Capitol, I being officially present as Commissioner of the General Land Office to pass upon bills affecting public land matters submitted to him for signature. The pen was handed to me by Major Archie Butt, who afterwards went down in the wreck of the Titanic". Signed "Fred Dennett". Pen - 7 5/8" L. Note - 6 3/4" H x 5" W. 3rd item: Fountain pen used by President William Howard Taft to sign a report of the Boundary Commissioners. Includes typed note on Office of the Commissioner, Department of the Interior, General Land Office, Washington, D.C., stationery reading "February 26, 1913. Pen used by the President of the United States, Wm. H. Taft, in affixing his signature and approving the report of the Boundary Commissioners, re-establishing the boundary line between Texas and New Mexico. Work in the field done under my jurisdiction as Commissioner of the General Land Office by United States Surveyors in 1911. Approved February 25th 1913". Signed "Fred Dennett". Pen - 8 1/2" L. Note - 5 3/4" H x 5" W. 4th item: Republican National Convention 1908 Alternate cast metal badge, comprised of hanger with the Capitol Building flanked by eagles and flags, left and right, above shield shaped medal with úALTERNATEî, top of the shield, with blue button reading, úNATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVENTION CHICAGO JUNE 1908î, center. Ivory and red striped grosgrain ribbon included. Marked "The Greenduck Company Engravers, Chicago" with two pins en verso. 4 1/4" H x 2 3/4" W. 5th item: Vice President John Hays Hammond 1908 cast metal campaign badge, comprised of a hanger reading "Vice President", above decorative medallion a button depicting Hammond with "JOHN HAYS HAMMOND", lower center, surmounted by an eagle, with a red, white, and blue satin ribbon. Two pins en verso. Unmarked. 5" H x 2 3/8" W. 6th item: XX Congresso Internacional de Americanistas Rio de Janeiro Brasil 1875-1922 cast bronze medal, depicting a flower, obverse, and the profile of a crowned female surrounded by floral sprays with "XX", "C", "I", "A", reverse. 2 3/8" dia. 7th item: Second Inauguration of William McKinley cast bronze medal, depicting McKinley, obverse, and and image of the Capitol Building surrounded "William McKinley President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt-Vice President Mar. 4. 1901", reverse. 1 3/4" dia. 8th item: United States General Land Office 1912 cast bronze medal, depicting an eagle, obverse, with "CENTENNIAL OF THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE 1812-1912", reverse. 2" dia. 9th-25th items: Large collection of medals including two (2) Boy Scouts of America "Be Prepared" cast metal badges (2 " H x 1 1/2" W to 2 1/2" H x 2" W), two (2) West African Union cast metal items, one (1) pin, one (1) necklace pendant, (1 1/8" dia.), one (1) Theodore Roosevelt cast metal badge with uniform portrait (1 3/4" H x 1 1/2" W), and one (1) "Now is the Time to be a Camel" button, (7/8" dia.). Also included are four (4) President Warren G. Harding campaign buttons, (5/8" dia. to 7/8" dia.), two (2) Charles E. Hughes campaign buttons (1" dia.), one (1) President William Howard Taft campaign button (1/2" dia.), and one (1) military rank insignia pin (3/8" H x 1 1/2" W). All items late 19th/early 20th century. (Higher-resolution photos are available at www.caseantiques.com)
Condition
1st item: Tarnish, areas of oxidation, ribbons frayed, surface of pin. 2nd item: Metal tip rusted, fountain pen. Heavy ink smudges, bleeding, surface of note. 3rd item: Metal tip rusted, fountain pen. Heavy ink smudges, bleeding, surface of note. 4th item: Tarnish, areas of oxidation, surface of badge. 5th item: Tarnish, tips of eagle wings bent, ribbon frayed, surface of badge. 6th-8th items: Overall good condition. 9th-25th items: Additional badges, pins, and buttons, in worn condition to be expected from age.