Skip to main content
Collections Menu
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Magnifying Glass on Stand
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Copyright not held by FDR Library

Magnifying Glass on Stand

Artifact IDMO 2006.183
Object Type Glass, Magnifying
Maker (American, founded 1853)
Dateca. 1930s-1940s
Mediummetal (iron alloy, copper alloy), glass
Dimensionsoverall (at maximum height) H 3 3/4 in x W 2 1/4 in x D 2 1/2 in (9.5 cm x 5.7 cm x 6.4 cm )
Physical DescriptionA round Bausch & Lomb magnifying glass in a metal stand. The circular cast steel surround has a brass ocular and magnifying glass lenses. The surround is threaded and can be adjusted up or down in the textured black metal stand. Engraved around the magnifier’s surround: BAUSH & LOMB OPTICAL CO. Rochester N.Y. U.S.A.
Historical NotePresident Roosevelt kept this object on his Oval Office desk. The President was an avid stamp collector whose personal collection eventually included nearly a million stamps. He likely used this Bausch & Lomb lens to examine items from his collection. It is on display in the FDR’S OVAL OFFICE DESK exhibit in the Museum’s APRIL 12, 1945 gallery.
Additional Details
National Archives Catalog CollectionFranklin D. Roosevelt Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 735948)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPersonal Possessions of the Roosevelt Family (National Archives Identifier 782689)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestricted
CopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
On view
Related Links