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.
Pig Figurine
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

Pig Figurine

Artifact IDMO 1947.93.412
Object Type Figurine
Maker
Gifter
Dateca. 1937
Mediumwood
Dimensionsoverall H 1 in x W 7/8 in x D 2 in (2.5 cm x 2.2 cm x 5.1 cm )
Physical DescriptionA small, wood carving of a pig. The eyes and snout of the figurine are painted.
Historical NoteFDR enjoyed collecting pig figurines and kept this one on his Oval Office desk. It was a Christmas gift from Eleanor Roosevelt in 1937. The First Lady had admired the pig during a guided tour of a Rural Arts Exhibit staged in Washington D.C. It was made at the John C. Campbell Folk School in North Carolina. The exhibit’s organizer, Allen E. Eaton, gave the pig to her. When FDR opened his gift he reportedly said, “Don’t let Henry see this,” referring to Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace. Wallace led a controversial campaign to encourage farmers to destroy pigs to maintain pork prices.

This figurine is on display in the FDR’S OVAL OFFICE DESK exhibit in the Museum’s APRIL 12, 1945 gallery.

Additional Details
Custodial History NoteDonated to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum as a bequest of Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 20, 1947.
Credit LineEstate of Franklin D. Roosevelt
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