Vintage Franklin D Roosevelt The Man Of The Hour Ships Wheel Mantel Clock Appraisal

Vintage Franklin D. Roosevelt "The Man of the Hour" Ship's Wheel Mantel Clock

This is a vintage commemorative mantel clock featuring a figural representation of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The clock is constructed from cast pot metal (spelter) with a monochromatic gold-toned bronze finish. The sculpture depicts FDR in a double-breasted suit, standing alongside a nautical ship's wheel which houses the clock face. The base of the piece is embossed with the iconic political slogan "F.D.R. - THE MAN OF THE HOUR." The clock face features a pictorial scene, likely depicting a farmer with a horse and plow, symbolizing New Deal-era agrarian revitalization. In terms of condition, the gold finish shows significant signs of age and patina, with visible wear on high-friction areas like the hands and the edges of the wheel, revealing the darker base metal beneath. There appears to be a light layer of surface dust and oxidation typical of mid-20th-century metalware. The clock hands are black and the numerical markers are Arabic numerals. These clocks were popular political memorabilia produced primarily in the 1930s or 1940s, often by companies such as the United Metal Goods Mfg. Co. of Brooklyn, NY. The craftsmanship is typical of mass-produced commercial castings of the era, focusing on recognizable likeness and symbolic patriotic motifs.