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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.
Cigarette Case
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.

Cigarette Case

Artifact IDMO 1974.339
Object Type Case, Cigarette
Maker
Date1943
Mediumgold
Dimensionsoverall H 1/2 in x W 4 in x D 3 1/4 in (1.3 cm x 10.2 cm x 8.3 cm )
Physical DescriptionA gold Ethiopian cigarette case. The cover has an elaborate see-through filigree design. The solid underside of the case is decorated by a flower and leaf design in each corner and at center. Stretched across the interior bottom half of the case is a metal bar to hold cigarettes in place. On the interior rim of the case is the inscription: July 1943 AA. An additional inscription in Arabic is on the opposite interior rim.
Historical NoteEmperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia gave Franklin D. Roosevelt this cigarette case when the two rulers met on February 13, 1945 aboard a U.S. Navy ship on the Great Bitter Lake in Egypt. The “July 1943 AA” engraving inside the case likely indicates it was made by an Ethiopian craftsman in July 1943 at Addis Ababa.
Additional Details
Credit LineGift of Anna Roosevelt Halsted
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.
In Collection(s)
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Not on view
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