Description:

Reagan Ronald
Designer porcelain enameled pillbox. Manufactured by Crummles & Co., England, with maker stamp on the bottom. 2" x 1.5" x 1" high. Interior of the top lid states "To Mrs. Reagan/With Love & Thanks/Tina", with the top of the lid showing a Japanese garden scene. Additional Christie's lot sticker and University Archives authentication tag hand numbered and signed by John Reznikoff. Fine condition

A lovely, very personal, and historically important piece, owned by the Reagans and on spectacular display in their home in Bel Air (as shown in the image below). This pillbox has a revealing painted scripted note on the inside of the top lid, "To Mrs. Reagan/With Love & Thanks/Tina". This allows the mind to wander to the events of the period and suggests quite probably the pillbox was a gift to Nancy from Tina Sinatra, Frank Sinatra's daughter from his first marriage. It was well documented that Frank Sinatra and Nancy Reagan were extremely close for many years and Tina knew Nancy. Tina Sinatra claimed in her memoirs from her book titled "My Father's Daughter, A Memoir by Tina Sinatra", to have intimate knowledge of Nancy Reagan's concerns about Sinatra's then 4th wife Barbara. In her book, Tina noted that Nancy had said "This woman is not going to make you happy. You've got one foot out the door-keep going." Frank was a frequent visitor to the White House and there was always speculation about the nature of his relationship with Mrs. Reagan, regardless the two were quite close.

Nancy was very particular with creating a perfect and well decorated environment for both the White House, and their California home. She was known for her flair for decorating, entertaining and hosting, which created an aura of style and sophistication for the White House. “She felt the White House should exemplify the best,” said Mark Weinberg, who worked on Ronald Reagan’s campaigns, in the White House Press Office. The Reagans were also ardent collectors, and Nancy loved to display their collections. Her love for lavish pill boxes was apparent as she had them prominently arranged on a table both in the white house and in their home in Bel Air as shown in the image below . This pill box with the special inscription and wonderful artwork displays beautifully. The artwork shows a Japanese garden with water, flowers, a pagoda and mountains, as well as two people standing on a bridge, holding hands, gazing at each other and going for a stroll in the serene environment. A very lovely piece allowing one's mind to wander about the historical behind the gift.

The Reagan auction saw record prices for a celebrity including about $200,000 for cowboy boots and $100,000 for a sheet of Presidential doodles. This incomplete set was purchased with the hopes that individual items could be offered, so as to share something intimate, private and Presidential with clients who might not wish to own a large group. The Reagans entertained a regalia of people at their home ranging from Heads of State and Politicos to the glitterati friends from the Hollywood days.

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