January 1, 2025

The World of Churchill Collectables

By BRIAN KRAPF

This wooden piece is an eighteen-inch-tall folk art likeness of Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt shaking hands at the 1941 Atlantic Conference. The piece was made in 1941 by American master wood carver and folk artist Holman Waldron Chaloner. Chaloner (1851–1943) hailed from Boston, Massachusetts, where he was a cabinet maker by trade. In his leisure time, he enjoyed building model ships from scratch and creating carvings of historical figures. Some of Chaloner’s wooden folk art pieces are preserved in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. 

Chaloner inscribed the back of this piece “President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill take leave aboard U.S.S. Augusta Aug 9 10 12 / 1941.” His signature is under the inscription, along with a punch mark bearing his initials. Although he was off a bit with the dates of the conference, Chaloner left us with an historically wonderful piece that honors a pivotal meeting of the two allied leaders. 

The Atlantic Conference was held secretly by Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt aboard their warships anchored at Placentia Bay, off the coast of Newfoundland. This was the first face-to-face wartime meeting between the two leaders, although the United States had not yet entered the conflict as a combatant. On August 14, 1941, after four days of meetings, the two leaders issued a joint declaration, the Atlantic Charter, which outlined the rights of free people of all nations. The Atlantic Charter was included in the declared principles of the United Nations when it was created in 1945.

2025 International Churchill Conference

Join us for the 42nd International Churchill Conference. Washington, DC | October 9-11, 2025

2025 International Churchill Conference

Brian Krapf’s book A Churchill Treasury: Sir Winston’s Public Service through Memorabilia is now available in the UK and the US.