This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/5/2020
The New England Fat Men’s Club was the brainchild of the owner of Hale’s Tavern in Wells River, VT. Founded in 1903 it celebrated big men in an era when weight was seen as a sign of prosperity. The fellow at the center of this rare 1 inch celluloid may or may not be intended to represent William Howard Taft, but the club’s history does say that Taft (all 340 pounds of him) once visited the annual meeting of the club, which grew to a membership in the hundreds. Legend says that when Taft was picked up at the Wells River railroad station by a car the car refused to move. That sounds like a tall (or at least a fat) story to us. The truth about the pin is that it’s a rare item with Whitehead and Hoag back paper and is in excellent condition.