WHITE HOUSE Historic Pen

[gvpens]

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since I have posted. I thought I would show a project that I have been working on for quite a while now. It is a pen made with original wood removed from the White House during the ca. 1950 restoration. The wood is virgin heart pine. The white is Alt. Ivory. It is part of my Historic Pen Series. Any comments are appreciated as usual.

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

I always love a pen with history, good job..

 

[we4marts]

Wow that is something that should be pasted down from generation to generation.

 

[markgum]

SWEET

 

[witz1976]

that is great!

 

[Mark]

Very nice. That's a pen that should stand the test of time. Nicely Done...

 

[boxerman]

Wow that is awesome very very nicely done.

 

[phillywood]

very nice pens. I was wondering how did you do that pic. or logo in the cap portion?

 

[PaulSF]

That's quite beautiful! My only critique is that I'd like to see more wood in the bottom half.

 

[Jim15]

That's an awesome presentation.

 

[jttheclockman]

This pen does stand out in the crowd and comes with a great story. Job well done. This is one case where the background is a perfect compliment to the pen. Nice job with the photo. I too would have liked to have seen more wood somehow incorporated in the pen. Maybe the blank was not that large to allow for this. Thanks for showing.

 

[BobBurt]

Great job, thanks for sharing it

 

[Rfturner]

awesome story with the blank great looking pen

 

[gvpens]

Thanks everyone for your nice comments. I love working with historic wood. I've had this piece for about 20 years now in my collection. I wanted to maximize the use of the wood without wasting any of it so I didn't make the bottom completely solid wood. Because of the shape of the piece there would have been too much waste. The cap and box were engraved by Ken Nelsen. The image is the from the 1st photo ever taken of the White House. It is from an 1846 daguerreotype. The pen is a full size Statesman with a nib from Brian Gray at Edison Pens.

 

[seamus7227]

sweet looking design and execution~~~!!!!!

 

[gwisher]

Very nicely done. How did you come across that blank? I love the grain too!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Beautiful. How did you acquire the wood?
And, not to be critical, but these things can be important, can you prove with provenance that is White House wood?

 

[gvpens]

I have been collecting antiques all my life and this wood came from an antique shop in VA about 20 years ago.
During the White House restoration around 1950 all of the material was removed carefully and divided into 4 categories. The first was to be reused in the rebuilt White House. The 2nd was used in other government projects. The 3rd was sold to the public as souvenirs. The 4th category of materials was just discarded.
This wood was in the 3rd category and was sold as "kit #1" to make a gavel. Each "kit" had a small brass plaque showing that the material came from the original White House. The wood originally sold for $2.00. The photos below show the wood and plaque that was attached. It was sold by the Commission on Renovation of the Executive Mansion.
I was lucky at the time to find this wood and it was not inexpensive. Occasionally now some of the wood turns up, but it is very expensive.
The back of my description card actually shows the original wood, plaque and renovation photo.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Very good. Definitely a plus.