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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.
Pardon Me
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Pardon Me

Object numberMO 1941.7.116
Name Model
Maker
Dateca. 1930
Mediumwood, metal, rope, plastic, fabric
Dimensionsoverall (model on base) H 19 in x W 42 in x D 10 1/2 in (48.3 cm x 106.7 cm x 26.7 cm )
DescriptionA model of a motorboat named, PARDON ME. The varnished wood boat contains a small operational motor. Stitched on the red fabric flooring (simulating carpeting) of the back seat: F.D.R. The name of ship is on both sides of the bow. The model rests unfixed on a large wood stand containing one drawer with metal anchor handles.
Label TextAn inmate at Sing Sing State Prison in Ossining, New York built this motorboat model and sent it to then New York Governor Franklin Roosevelt as a gift in 1930. The boat’s name, PARDON ME, reflected the prisoner’s hope for a reprieve from the governor. Roosevelt Library records do not indicate the name of the prisoner or his ultimate fate. Roosevelt put this model on display in the Roosevelt Library’s Naval Exhibition Room when it opened in 1941.
Additional Details
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesShip Models (National Archives Identifier 782457)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
Collections
Non exposé
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