Celebrating our 29th Anniversary!
Celebrating our 29th Anniversary!
A Letter from Sagamore Hill's Superintendent Jonathan Parker
Download PDFA Letter from Sagamore Hill's Superintendent Jonathan Parker
Download PDFSaving The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln
At the April 28, 2022, Board meeting of The Friends of Sagamore Hill, Laura Cinturati, Museum Technician at the Sagamore Hill NHS, presented a proposal for preserving the 1894, 12-volume set of The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln. These books were on display in the Library of the TRH and were in serious need of conservation. The total cost would be approximately $27,000. The Board unanimously approved the funds for this project. The conservation work began in May of 2022, and take 6 to 8 months to complete. Please see the Conservation Proposal below.
Saving Two Silver Candelabras, a Wedding Gift to Edith & TR
At the December 14, 2021, Board meeting of The Friends of Sagamore Hill, Laura Cinturati, Museum Technician at the Sagamore Hill NHS, presented a proposal for preserving two silver candelabras that are in dire need of conservation treatment. The total cost would be approximately $6,000. The Board unanimously approved the funds for this project. Please see the Conservation Proposal below.
Update: the candelabras were picked up by the conservator on February 23, 2022.
Update: Two Silver Candelabras SAVED
On May 26, 2022, Laura Cinturati, Museum Technician at the Sagamore Hill NHS, reported that conservators from Fallon and Wilkinson dropped off the two silver candelabras for the Dining Room and they look wonderful. Please see the "after treatment" photo of one of the candelabras below.
The Friends agreed to fund the $2,500 removal, by a private contractor, of a hazardous, and badly diseased, tree at the eastern end of the parking lot. The 90 foot tall silver maple was taken down on February 17th.
In this close-up photo, it is clear that the tree was beyond saving and needed to be taken down safely. It will be replaced by a new, juvenile tree.
The original Cape Buffalo in the front hall of the TRH, which was shot by TR himself during his African safari in 1910, begins cracking every year with the onset of Winter but with proper care the NHS Curatorial Staff have always managed to keep the damage to a minimum. Unfortunately, in 2019, the cracking began earlier than usual due to a large swing in temperature and humidity at the beginning of November. The cracking was so severe that immediate action had to be taken to prevent further damage to the specimen. Work is scheduled to be done by an expert taxidermist, but in the meantime, an artificial Cape Buffalo was produced which will hang in the front hall at Sagamore Hill until the original can be safely displayed. Both the taxidermy work on the original Cape Buffalo and the production of the faux Cape Buffalo, were funded by The Friends of Sagamore Hill. On the right is a photo of the faux Cape Buffalo hanging in the front hall.
Below is a Thank You letter from Sagamore Hill NHS Superintendent Jonathan Parker, along with additional photos.
A Letter from Sagamore Hill's Superintendent Jonathan Parker
Download PDFA Letter from Sagamore Hill's Superintendent Jonathan Parker
Sagamore Hill's Superintendent Jonathan Parker outlines how a recent $10,000 donation made to the site by The Friends of Sagamore Hill will be used and how much it is appreciated. Superintendent Parker also included photos of the removal of a Black Cherry tree that posed a hazard to the public visiting the Pet Cemetery. The removal was funded by a donation from The Friends of Sagamore Hill.
The Friends of Sagamore Hill paid for the restoration of the original door knocker on the front door of the Old Orchard Museum. This is what it looked like prior to restoration.
And this is what it looks like now!
The Sagamore Hill NHS did not own any document on Sagamore Hill letterhead. Above is a manuscript page from a speech TR gave in 1902 on the trusts in Cincinnati. The Friends of Sagamore Hill purchased it and donated it to the NHS collection.
The Friends of Sagamore Hill purchased and then donated this plaster cast of Theodore Roosevelt's death mask, done in 1919 and taken from the initial plaster bandages by James E. Fraser
Here is a side view of the same plaster cast.
Along with the death mask, The Friends of Sagamore Hill also helped preserve and protect the plaster cast of Theodore Roosevelt's right hand, also done by James E. Fraser.