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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.
Braille Nameplate
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Braille Nameplate

Artifact IDMO 1944.112.7
Object Type Nameplate
Maker (American, 1898-1965)
Dateca. 1944
Mediummetal, wood, textile
Dimensionsoverall H 2 7/8 in x W 16 1/4 in x D 2 1/2 in (7.3 cm x 41.3 cm x 6.4 cm )
Physical DescriptionA metal and wood nameplate. The nameplate consists of an oblong wood base with a slit in the top in which sits a thin, rectangular, removable metal plate with "Franklin D. Roosevelt" in Braille. The underside of the wood base is lined with green felt.
Historical NoteAnthony E. Septinelli of Los Angeles, California sent FDR this handmade Christmas gift in 1943 “as a token of my affection and esteem.” The nameplate, he wrote the President, was “written in my language, the language of the blind. All of the work was done by me . . . to make the Braille letters of your name.” Septinelli said he worked at a vocational rehabilitation center and had “placed twenty-five blind people in war industries, as ‘riveters,’ punch press operators, and on the assembly line.”
Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDonated as a bequest of Franklin D. Roosevelt to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum 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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