Sold – Harry Hopkins’ Print of Franklin Roosevelt’s 1937 Inauguration, Signed by the President

For his second inaugural (and the first held on January 20), Roosevelt ordered that a replica of Andrew Jackson’s home, the Hermitage, be set up in front of the White House to shelter him as the parade passed in review. The reason, states the 1937 Inuagural Program, is that Jackson, founder of the Democratic Party, was FDR’s hero. Roosevelt believed that Jackson “sought social justice and fought for human rights in his many battles to protect the people against autocratic or oligarchic oppression.” Clearly, FDR saw himself as fighting the same battles, and wanted to underline the association between himself and Old Hickory as he celebrated his return to the White House for an additional term.

The President was proud of the moment, the association and the parade, and as early as January 26, 1937 desired that it be immortalized in an engraved print. Working in conjunction with Senator Bachman of Tennessee, the print was to be based on photographs of the event; FDR himself provided the inscription and requested that the print include remarque portraits of Andrew and Rachel Jackson. William H. Roach was selected to be the engraver and the work was printed by the US Government Printing Office.  The run was a small one and Roosevelt presented signed copies to a handful of his advisors and associates.

In 1931 Roosevelt appointed Harry L. Hopkins as the executive director of the New York State Temporary Emergency Relief Administration. When Roosevelt became president he recruited Hopkins to implement his various social welfare programs at the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and Works Projects Administration. As head of the WPA, Hopkins employed more than 3 million people and was responsible for the building of highways, bridges, public buildings and parks. Hopkins also served as Secretary of Commerce. It was during World War II that Hopkins’s influence reached its zenith, as he acted as FDR’s personal emissary to Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin, and as the shadowy figure behind Roosevelt at the Big Three conferences and indeed in war planning and policy.

Signed Print. A 13 1/2 by 15 1/2 inch print of FDR’s 1937 Inauguration, inscribed “To Harry L. Hopkins with my affectionate regard, Franklin D. Roosevelt.” It is still in its original frame, as presented by Roosevelt to Hopkins.