Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum.
National Recovery Administration (NRA) Member Wall Hanging
Artifact IDMO 1976.68
Object Type
Hanging, Wall
Maker
Unknown
Date1933
Mediumtextile (wool), metal, paper
Dimensionsoverall H 16 1/2 in x W 10 1/2 in (41.9 cm x 26.7 cm )
Physical DescriptionA small, woven Navajo wall hanging featuring the National Recovery Administration (NRA) Blue Eagle logo. At the center of a cream-colored background is the blue eagle symbol consisting of a solid blue eagle holding a gear in its right talon and bolts of lightning in its left talon, and the words "NRA / MEMBER / U.S. / WE DO OUR PART" in red and blue text above and below it. The top edge of the hanging is fringed, and small tassels are at each of the bottom corners.
Attached from a wire on the proper left corner of the hanging is a small paper tag with printed information that reads: GUARANTEED / GENUINE / HAND MADE / NAVAJO / CROWNPOINT / TRADING CO. / Indian Traders / Thoreau, New Mex. On the reverse of the tag is a handwritten ink message that reads: The President / From J. L. Ambrose.
Historical NoteJ. L. Ambrose of the Crownpoint Trading Company in Thoreau, New Mexico sent President Roosevelt this handwoven Navajo wall hanging in 1933. It bears the initials of the New Deal’s National Recovery Administration (NRA). The piece, he wrote Roosevelt, was woven “especially for you” by a Navajo woman. He reassured FDR that “we are 100% behind the NRA movement and anything else which is in your program.” In a short thank you note, Roosevelt asked Ambrose to “convey to the weaver my compliments on her work and my thanks.”Attached from a wire on the proper left corner of the hanging is a small paper tag with printed information that reads: GUARANTEED / GENUINE / HAND MADE / NAVAJO / CROWNPOINT / TRADING CO. / Indian Traders / Thoreau, New Mex. On the reverse of the tag is a handwritten ink message that reads: The President / From J. L. Ambrose.
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 SeriesArtifacts Relating to the New Deal (National Archives Identifier 750981)
Use Restriction StatusUnrestrictedCopyrightReproduction or other use of these holdings or images thereof is unrestricted.In Collection(s)
Not on view