Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. London: Charles Frodsham, 1872. Fine English gold open-face pocket watch by Charles Frodsham, London, featuring an 18 kt. gilt three-quarter plate movement, gold cuvette, white enamel dial with Roman numerals, subsidiary seconds, and plain polished case, diameter approximately 50 mm. The backplate engraved: 'Alfred Pell 1873 / G.E.P. Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1901' Accompanied by a gold watch chain and attached gold-mounted pen knife. Provenance: Probably James Roosevelt (listed on the title page of the catalogue, Sotheby's New York, 26 October, 1988 lot 174). This historically significant personal item relates to Franklin D. Roosevelt during his formative years as a young member of one of New York's prominent political families. The 1901 inscription places the piece at a pivotal period in Roosevelt's early adulthood, the same year he entered Harvard University as an upperclassman and shortly before he formally began his legal studies at Columbia Law School. The year 1901 was also transformative for the Roosevelt political dynasty. Following the assassination of William McKinley in September 1901, Franklin's distant cousin Theodore Roosevelt ascended to the presidency, dramatically elevating the Roosevelt name onto the national political stage. Young Franklin admired Theodore Roosevelt deeply, and the new administration would profoundly influence his own political ambitions and public identity. During this period, Franklin Roosevelt was developing social and political connections that would later define his ascent in New York Democratic politics. Within a decade, he would enter public office as a New York State Senator, beginning one of the most consequential political careers in American history. The inscription suggests the watch may have originated with Alfred Pell in 1873 and later passed to the young Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1901, possibly as a family gift or presentation piece. Alfred Pell was a member of the prominent New York Pell family, an old Hudson River and New York society family closely connected socially to the Roosevelts. The Pells and Roosevelts moved within the same elite New York circles. An important and evocative relic from the early life of Franklin D. Roosevelt, connecting the future president to the emergence of the modern Roosevelt political era in America. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing