To say that Teddy Roosevelt is a well-known, beloved, and important character in American history is an understatement. Though fame tends to find perspective when one’s face has been immortalized with granite in the Badlands of South Dakota. TR was admired across the nation. He had a robust personality, gave profound speeches, lived his beliefs, and changed the face of this country forever with his efforts in wildlife and habitat conservation.
Whether leading the legendary Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War, embarking on prolific hunting adventures, offering “Square Deals” to his constituents, surviving an assassination attempt on his life, winning the Nobel Peace Prize, or beginning construction of the Panama Canal, the tales of Teddy Roosevelt’s life have become part of the fabric of this nation’s great history.
Two portraits of Theodore Roosevelt contrasting his love of nature and his political aspirations.
It should come as no surprise that a knife once owned by President Roosevelt also has more than a few tales to tell. The knife’s origin begins in 1909 when TR received this national treasure from his good friend New York Supreme Court Justice James W. Gerard. Both men served in the Spanish-American War, but upon leaving the service found opposite ends of the political spectrum. They likely became acquainted in the New York political scene when Roosevelt served as the New York governor for two years and Gerard sat on the Supreme Court bench. The story of the knife’s presentation is recalled best in the words of U.S. Marshal Thomas D. McCarthy, whom Justice Gerard had asked present the hunting knife to Roosevelt with the following instructions,
The knife was considered an extremely lavish gift and wore a 1909 price tag of $1,250, about $33,266 in 2016 dollars. It was such a send off to the nation’s youngest president, that it warranted national news coverage. In Rock Island, Illinois, the city’s newspaper at that time was the Rock Island Argus. On Thursday, March 10, 1909 they printed at article on the sixth page entitled, “Fine Knife for Roosevelt.” It reads as follows:
The Teddy Roosevelt Knife: A National Treasure from an American Icon
One item of note not covered in the Argus article is that of the knife’s creator. That honor belongs to two separate companies: J. Russell and Co. of Green River, New York whose stamp is on the blade, and Dreicer & Co., whose name is printed on the handle’s edge. It should be of significant note to collectors that Dreicer & Co, despite being in business only from 1904 – 1923, were a top jewelry retailer and a direct rival to such well-known names as Fabergé. With the split of duties for the blade and the highly ornamented handle, it is unknown which shop performed the acid etched inscription.
The knife has been passed down through the Roosevelt family for the last 107 years. It has never been made available to the public prior to this sale. When Theodore died in 1919, the knife went to his second wife, Edith (his first wife, Alice, passed in 1884). Edith in turn bequeathed the knife to her eldest daughter Ethel Roosevelt Derby. Mrs. Derby intended to present the knife as a wedding gift to her granddaughter in 1976. To secure the knife during her cross-country travels from Oyster Bay to Seattle, Mrs. Derby kept the knife in her purse.
This incredible Teddy Roosevelt knife was passed down through generations of the Roosevelt family before selling for a record setting $414,000 at Rock Island Auction Company back in September 2016.
However, this was cause for alarm at the security checkpoint in John F. Kennedy International Airport, in New York City. Upon seeing this incredible knife and hearing its story, security allowed the knife to be transported by the pilot in the cockpit for the duration of the flight. Upon landing, it was returned to Mrs. Derby who presented the knife to the couple several days later at their wedding. Thrilled with such a historic and beautiful gift rife with family history, the couple immediately used it to cut their wedding cake.
The Bull Moose Rides On
The stories this knife can tell after scant more than a century are enough to endear it to the heart of any collector or history enthusiast. Even without the tales that have truly given this item a personality all its own, its provenance alone elevates its status to that of National Treasure. A hunting knife given to arguably the greatest conservationist and one of the most well-known hunters of the 20th century? What could be more perfect representation? Rock Island Auction Company is honored to present this perfect slice of American history to the public for the first time in its existence, and cannot wait to hear of the new adventures in which it partakes.
After leaving the White House, knives and firearms continued to play a significant role in Teddy Roosevelt’s life. He and his son Kermit participated in the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition which is recorded in his book “African Game Trails.” During the expedition, they killed over 11,000 animals, including 512 big game animals, for preservation and scientific study back in the U.S. He then toured Europe before returning home.
Theodore Roosevelt hunting big game.
Once stateside, Roosevelt clashed with President William H. Taft, his longtime friend and hand-picked successor, after Taft broke from Roosevelt’s progressive policies, particularly on conservation. The growing schism within the Republican Party led to Roosevelt running as the presidential candidate of the newly found Progressive Party in 1912.
Theodore Roosevelt, the Bull Moose.
Following his stinging defeat in the 1912 election, President Theodore Roosevelt planned a trip to South America with a lecture tour and river expedition in the works. Roosevelt traveled to South America where he and his son Kermit participated in the dangerous “River of Doubt” expedition, aka the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition. He planned to bring back examples of various animals for scientific study at the Smithsonian, but the expedition went poorly. Three members of the expedition died, and their boats were overturned leading to the loss of many of their supplies and their scientific specimens.
Former president Theodore Roosevelt stands next to a marker with the new name of the River of Doubt, Rio Roosevelt, or Roosevelt River. Naturalist George Cherrie is on far left. To the right of the marker is Col. Candido Rondon, who co-led the expedition, and Kermit Roosevelt, the president’s son.
The expedition took its toll on Roosevelt who suffered from recurring malaria for the rest of his life which he called “old Brazilian trouble.” He died in 1919 at the age of 60.
Theodore Roosevelt’s policies gave a voice to the average citizen, his works in South America transformed global trade, and his love of nature helped establish some of the most beautiful and sacred national parks in the entire world. Above all else, Teddy Roosevelt valued the responsibilities of masculinity, revering the strength of one’s character and elevating the idea of integrity on an international scale.
Teddy Roosevelt Guns
Unlike many of the other famous firearms owned by Roosevelt that have been institutionalized (such as his Holland & Holland Double Rifle “Big Stick” now on display at the Smithsonian), Rock Island Auction Company has had the great honor to offer two Teddy Roosevelt Revolvers over the past several years. The most recent revolver, to be featured in the December 9-11, 2022 Premier Firearms Auction, is an engraved Smith and Wesson New Model No. 3 chambered in the extremely scarce .38 Long Colt, the U.S. service cartridge at the time.
An American gun from one of the most American legends of all time, an engraved Smith & Wesson New Model No 3 revolver documented to the future 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt.
In December of 2022, Rock Island Auction offered a Teddy Roosevelt owned Colt Single Action Army revolver that took the world by storm. Perhaps the most highly embellished firearm owned by the 26th President still in circulation, Roosevelt’s Colt SAA is the very definition of a legacy gun.
This classic factory-engraved Colt SAA revolver was ordered for Theodore Roosevelt around his 54th birthday just days before he was shot while campaigning for the presidency as the Progressive Party candidate in 1912. It sold at Rock Island Auction Company in December 2020 for $1,466,250.
As Theodore Roosevelt’s extraordinary life demonstrates, some men truly do live up to the legend. Subscribe to the weekly Rock Island Auction newsletter to receive new gun blogs and gun videos on some of the biggest names in American and world history. From Ulysses S. Grant’s Remington Revolvers, the Napoleon garniture, and Alexander Hamilton’s Revolutionary War flintlock pistols and epaulets, we cover some of the finest firearms and the legends who carried them.
Sources:
“Fine Knife for Roosevelt.” Rock Island Argus 11 Mar. 1909: 6. Print.
Herbert, Thomas. Theodore Roosevelt: Typical American, His Life and Work. United States: L.H. Walter, 1919. 341-42. Print.
