A VICTORIAN SILVER STANDISH WITH LETTER OF GIFT PENNED BY MRS. LOU HENRY HOOVER,Birmingham, 1873, maker's mark of George Unite. The stand on leaf and scroll feet supporting an oval dish pierced on each side with confronting scrolls and leaves. The tray centered by a sand well flanked by two silver-mounted crystal inkwells cut with fan decoration, two pen wells on either side - 11 oz. 8 dwt, weighable silver; 10 in. wide. Estimate $2,000-3,000
In May 1925, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover and his wife presented this standish to Kathryn Shults Axtman, Hoover's secretary and friend, on the occasion of her marriage to Stuart Godwin. The standish was handed down to her son and daughter-in-law.
Included with the standish is a note written by Mrs. Lou Henry Hoover stating 'With all good wishes for the future, and many pleasant memories of the past-May twenty-ninth'. Also accompaning the gift is Mrs. Hoover's calling card from the Hoover's 2300 S Street address.
