Dimensions: 31.5H x 84.75W x 52.75D inches
Description:
The desk was originally given to President Rutherford B. Hayes by British Queen Victoria in appreciation for the return to Great Britain of HMS Resolute, a British Arctic exploring ship which became encased in the Arctic ice on a mission to find British Arctic explorer Rear Admiral John Franklin. Franklin had been on a search for the fabled Northwest Passage. After several years without word from Franklin or his party, the British organized search expeditions to try and determine what had happened to Franklin’s mission. The HMS Resolute was one of the ships on expedition and became encased in an ice flow in August 1853. When the ship was still stuck the following spring, it was ordered abandoned. While the British Government claimed ownership of the vessel, no salvage operation was undertaken. In September 1855 the ship was discovered adrift by an American whaler. It was sailed to New London, Connecticut, later purchased by the US Government, refitted and returned to Britain in 1856. It was retired in 1879 and its timbers were used for salvage.
From the timbers, Queen Victoria ordered four desks built. One was given to President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1880 where it was used by several Presidents in the Oval Office including FDR, John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Donald Trump.
Our Resolute Presidential Desk is made from plantation grown and certified legal mahogany and can be finished in an assortment of colors and finishes, and finished with a plain wood top or with leather inlays.
Features:
