We’ve just acquired this handsome pair of cast iron Teddy Roosevelt bookends, certain to upgrade any “trophy room” regardless how grand. What a coincidence that Theodore Roosevelt’s home, on Oyster Bay, Long Island, has just reopened after a comprehensive renovation.
In 1880, at the tender age of 22, Theodore Roosevelt purchased a 150 acre parcel of land on a peninsula on Long Island’s North Shore, 25 miles east of New York City. He hired an architect to design the 22 room mansion and its construction was completed in 1886. Roosevelt moved-in the next year and lived in the home until his death in 1919. He named the home “Sagamore Hill,” after the Algonquin Indian word for “chief” or “head of the tribe.”
During Roosevelt’s time as president, he spent his summers at Sagamore Hill, making it the first “Summer White House.” The development and installation of telegraph cables allowed the 26th president to get-away from Washington for the summer while attending to the needs of the country.
The bookends above, crafted in the 1920’s, would make a stately (and historic) addition to any bookshelf, desk or den.
More bookends tomorrow.