Mar 10, 2020 - Sale 2533

Sale 2533 - Lot 206

Price Realized: $ 750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,200 - $ 1,800
(ROOSEVELT, FRANKLIN D.) Pair of invitation packets to the famed presidential "Hot-Dog Picnic" with the King and Queen. 13 items, each smaller than 5 x 6 inches; minimal wear. In an envelope bound into a commercial pamphlet binder, which is in turn housed in a modern cloth custom folding case. Hyde Park, NY, 11 June 1939
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Additional Details

June 1939 marked the first visit of a British monarch to the United States. King George VI and President Roosevelt both recognized the need for increased cooperation in the coming war--and also that the American public might need to be convinced that the English were worthy allies. The tour began with formal diplomatic events in Washington and New York before proceeding to Roosevelt's home in Hyde Park, NY, where the royal family was treated to an "informal" American picnic on 11 June. The young King and Queen ate hot dogs on Roosevelt's front porch and gamely pretended to enjoy them, which helped endear them to the hearts of Americans.
Offered here are two sets of invitations to the famed Hot Dog Picnic, one issued to the president's cousin Miss Laura F. Delano (1885-1972) and one to another cousin, the bibliophile and librarian Frederick Baldwin Adams, Jr. (1910-2001) and his wife. Each set contains a program for a presentation of American Indian music; an invitation card and admission card (each completed in manuscript), a response card, and an instruction card on how the guests will be presented to the King and Queen and then "take seats under the trees where luncheon will be served to them." Each packet is contained in its original stamped and postmarked mailing envelope. The Adams packet contains a second program for Mrs. Adams.
Provenance: collection of Franklin B. Adams, Jr. (his bookplate on the original folder); his Sotheby's sale, 6 November 2001, lot 326; collection of Donald Scott Carmichael (his bookplate in case).