SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Sen. Alan Bible’s 1909 mahogany flat top desk is returning to its original home in Washington, D.C. to be used once again by U.S. Senators. The desk was gifted by the University of Nevada, Reno’s Special Collections department to the U.S. Senate through the Senate’s Commission on Art in honor of the Russell Senate Office Building’s 2009 centennial.
Senate Associate Curator Melinda Smith says the Senate is anticipating the arrival of Bible’s desk. “We inventory them every year to record who sat in what desk. So the ‘Bible’ desk will be remembered for all time.”
After Senator Bible retired in 1975, he presented the large desk, along with his personal senatorial papers, to the Special Collections Department at the University. Bible’s desk was one of the custom made pieces by George W. Cobb, Jr., of New York in 1909 for the Russell Senate Office Building, a new Beaux Arts style building which was commissioned to relieve overcrowding in the United States Capitol.
Senator Sen. Harry Reid, Chairman of the Senate Commission on Art expressed his appreciation of the gift. “Senator Bible served the people of Nevada in the United States Senate for 20 years (1954-1974). In fact, he served in the seat I serve in now. The Senate is a place where our nation’s history is made and the artifacts of the past echo the difficult decisions that were made, the historic measures that were passed, and the moments that changed our nation forever. As the chairman of the Senate Commission on Art, and the senior senator from the Silver State, I welcome Senator Bible’s beautiful mahogany desk back to Washington. I am pleased it will go back into use in the Senate’s collection of historic furniture and represent Senator Bible’s legacy for years to come.”
For more information, email Jacquelyn Sundstrand at: [email protected], or call 775-682-5667.
