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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.
The Chimes of Normandy
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

The Chimes of Normandy

Artifact IDMO 1941.4.8
Object Type Carving
Maker (American, 1915 - 1956)
Gifter
Date1935
Mediumwood, metal, fabric
Dimensionsoverall H 38 1/4 in x W 20 in x D 10 1/2 in (97.2 cm x 50.8 cm x 26.7 cm )
Physical DescriptionAn elaborately carved wooden clock case made entirely out of wooden grocery boxes. The carving represents the façade of a church with three spires, each with a small metal bell. Below the center spire is a non-working clock face with hands (the clock mechanism was not installed). The back side of the model is partially covered in wood, and partially in fabric.
Historical NoteMany of FDR’s admirers sent him handmade gifts. Twenty-year-old Ernestine Guerrero of San Antonio, Texas created this hand-carved wooden clock case for the President and sent it to him in October 1937. Guerrero’s family had received food assistance through the New Deal while her father, a carpenter, was unemployed. It took her a year to create this scroll-cut clock case titled, The Chimes of Normandy. She used a kit pattern and wood she salvaged from the grocery boxes provided to her family. President Roosevelt was impressed with Guerrero’s gift and put it on display in the Roosevelt Library. It is on display in the GIFTS FROM THE PEOPLE exhibit in the Museum’s NEW DEAL gallery.
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDeposited at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941. 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 SeriesGift Items and Commemorative Artifacts (National Archives Identifier 782690)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
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