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Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Napoleon Bottle Opener

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:800.00 - 1,000.00 USD
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Napoleon Bottle Opener

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Auction Date:2014 Sep 17 @ 11:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
General Eisenhower’s personally-owned and -used silver bottle opener made by Christofle, featuring a superb and detailed portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte raised in high relief on the 2? diameter circular handle, surrounded by the words “Napoleon” and “Empereur.” The reverse features a small bee at the top, which was chosen by Napoleon as a symbol of his empire, and a ring of laurels encircling Eisenhower’s finely engraved title and initials, “General D. D. E.” The head of the opener bears Christofle maker’s stamps on both sides. Includes a detailed letter of provenance on White House letterhead from Lillian Rogers Parks, who was a best selling author and housekeeper and seamstress at the White House for over 30 years, from Hoover through Eisenhower. In part: “I served President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie for eight years. They were lovely people…The bottle opener was owned and used by President Eisenhower. On the back it is engraved General D. D. E. This may have been a gift to him while he was in France in 1944 or 1945. But even after he was President some people referred to him as The General. So he could have gotten it after coming to the White House in 1953. It is engraved with the markings Christofle France…Shortly before I left the White House, which was just before the Kennedys were moving in, the First Lady gave me a few personal items. One of them was this fine bottle opener which had been owned by the President.” As this depicts Napoleon and refers to Ike as “General,” it has an exceptional connection to his military service during World War II. As the the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, he was tasked with organizing and executing one of the most important and well-known moments of the war—Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy, paving the way for the liberation of France and eventual invasion of Germany. In addition to being a beautifully crafted piece in itself, this bottle opener represents a defining moment of Eisenhower’s military career and associates him with another renowned military leader and bold tactician, as it depicts Napoleon on one side and Ike on the other. In extra fine condition.