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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Monitor and Merrimac: First Fight Between Ironclads.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Monitor and Merrimac: First Fight Between Ironclads.

Object numberMO 1941.3.206
Name Print
Artist (American painter and illustrator, 1853-1894)
Printer (American, 1860 - 1897)
Dateca. 1886
Mediumpaper
Dimensionsframe H 23 in x W 29 in x D 5/8 in (58.4 cm x 73.7 cm x 1.6 cm )
DescriptionA full color print of the J. O. Davidson painting of the engagement between the USS MONITOR and CSS VIRGINIA (formerly the USS MERRIMACK). It depicts the two iron clad ships at close range, the VIRGINIA on the left and the MONITOR on the right. Black smoke is seen issuing from the smokestack of the VIRGINIA, with white gun smoke coming from the MONITOR. Two steam screw frigates can be seen in the background. The title, publisher, and date are printed beneath the image: AQUARELLE FACSIMILE PRINT / COPYRIGHT 1886 / L. PRANG & COMPANY BOSTON. / MONITOR AND MERRIMAC [sp.] / FIRST FIGHT BETWEEN IRONCLADS.

The print is matted, glazed, and framed in a 7/8" contemporary black wood frame.
Label TextFranklin Roosevelt was an avid, lifelong collector of prints, engravings, and paintings illustrating the history of the United States Navy.

The famous March 9, 1862, duel between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack)—the first clash between iron-clad warships— was one of his major collecting interests. FDR owned nearly 75 depictions of the two ships and the battle. His interest may have been influenced by the fact that a Delano ancestor, Edward Hartt Delano, was involved in the construction of the Merrimack.

FDR displayed this print in the Lincoln Bedroom in the White House.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDeposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt on before September 9, 1940. It was donated as a bequest of FDR to the Library in 1947.
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesUnited States Navy Materials (National Archives Identifier 782673)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
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