~1950 Polished Brass Spittoon, from the White House

My Father came back from a meeting in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 1951 on the Southerner, a passenger train operating between New Orleans and Washington, packing this in his suitcase. He told me it came from the White House. The White House was completely gutted during the Truman administration, and the Commission on the Renovation of the Executive Mansion created a souvenir program to offer to the public items of “no tangible value but which were desired by many people for preservation as mementos or souvenirs of the historic building.” 

https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-truman-renovation-souvenir-program

Back in the days before there were cigarettes, most Americans consumed tobacco by chewing it or inhaling it as snuff. It was not the tidiest habit, and gentlemen used polished brass spittoons, but most chewers simply used the floor, even when visiting the White House.

This spittoon weighs 5 pounds, is 7-1/2" diameter and stands 3-1/4" tall.  The top cover is removable. I cant find a manufacturer's mark, it has what looks like ~1/2" wide rubberized cork bonded around the bottom rim.  I looks like the very edge of the base was rolled over to contain the cork, and that rolled edge is split over about a 6" length.