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.
Ashtray with Match Holder
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

Ashtray with Match Holder

Artifact IDMO 1947.93.453
Object Type Ashtray
Maker
Gifter
Dateca. 1937
Mediummetal (copper Alloy), silver plate
Dimensionsoverall H 6 3/8 in x Diam 8 1/4 in (16.2 cm x 21 cm )
Physical DescriptionA silver plate on copper ashtray and match holder. The piece consists of base formed from a circular bowl with the match holder attached at the center. The holder is formed of a circular piece, mounted vertically, with a wedge-shaped opening at the top. Inscribed on one side of the holder: PRESIDENT FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT / Merry Christmas / AMON Carter / 1937. Inscribed on the other side is an image of a unicorn with the motto: SEMPER EADEM [Latin for ALWAYS THE SAME].
Historical NotePresident Roosevelt kept this ashtray with match holder on his Oval Office desk. It was a Christmas gift from Amon G. Carter Sr. in 1937. Amon G. Carter Sr. (1879-1955) was a Fort Worth, Texas newspaper publisher and philanthropist whose foundation later created the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth in 1961. This object is on display in the FDR’S OVAL OFFICE 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 StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.
In Collection(s)
On view
Related Links