Red Cross to Auction Off Little Pieces of Its History
Starting next month, the American Red Cross will auction off items squirreled away over many years in a warehouse in Lorton, Va., outside Washington.
Among more than 150 treasures going on the block, to help address a $50 million budget deficit, are a four-faced Cartier clock lamp; a Sèvres compote dish that was a gift from Albert Lebrun, president of France from 1932 to 1940; original Christmas Seals; international stamps; and archival materials.
One of the more unusual items is a wax doll named Rose Percy, together with a collection of clothes and accessories rivaling those of any American Girl doll. According to an article by Virginia Mescher, a writer and Civil War historian, the doll was sold in an 1864 raffle to raise money for the United States Sanitary Commission, a Red Cross precursor that supported and cared for Union soldiers.
The auction is part of the organization’s effort to eliminate the deficit that remained after it pared its staff and took other cost-cutting measures in its last fiscal year, which ended June 30. By closing the warehouse and outsourcing storage and archival operations, the Red Cross will save $3 million annually.
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Among more than 150 treasures going on the block, to help address a $50 million budget deficit, are a four-faced Cartier clock lamp; a Sèvres compote dish that was a gift from Albert Lebrun, president of France from 1932 to 1940; original Christmas Seals; international stamps; and archival materials.
One of the more unusual items is a wax doll named Rose Percy, together with a collection of clothes and accessories rivaling those of any American Girl doll. According to an article by Virginia Mescher, a writer and Civil War historian, the doll was sold in an 1864 raffle to raise money for the United States Sanitary Commission, a Red Cross precursor that supported and cared for Union soldiers.
The auction is part of the organization’s effort to eliminate the deficit that remained after it pared its staff and took other cost-cutting measures in its last fiscal year, which ended June 30. By closing the warehouse and outsourcing storage and archival operations, the Red Cross will save $3 million annually.