The present lot, a rare platinum Patek Philippe wristwatch retailed by Tiffany & Co., was a gift to department store magnate and philanthropist, Louis E. Kirstein (July 8, 1867 - December 10th, 1942) from his wife Rose Stein on his 60th birthday. Kirstein was the Vice President of Filene's of Boston from 1911 - 1942. He served as chairman for the American Jewish Committee and the United Jewish Appeal as well as the national director for the Jewish Welfare Board. He worked in numerous capacities for the Federal Government, including as a member of the National Labor Board, chairman of the Industrial Advisory Board and member of the Business Advisory Council for the Department of Commerce. Kirstein's extensive offi ce fi les, which includ detailed correspondence with a variety of charities, is part of the permanent collection of Harvard Business School's Women, Enterprise & Society: A Guide to Resources in the Business Manuscripts Collection at Baker Library. The watch was passed down to his son, Lincoln Kirstein (May 4, 1907 - January 6, 1996). Lincoln went on to gain tremendous notoriety as a publisher, writer, art connoisseur, founder of the School of American American Ballet, all leading to his contemporaries recognizing him as a central cultural fi gure in New York City. While serving in WWII from 1943 - 1945, Lincoln managed to engage in numerous artistic endeavors, including a project that documented artwork by fellow soldiers, which eventually became an exhibition and book entitled, Artists Under Fire. Shortly after the War in 1948, Kirstein and his long term collaborator, George Balanchine, founded the New York City Ballet. Lincoln was also a perpetual ambassador of global arts, including the organization of an American tour of traditional Japanese musicians and dancers in 1959 that had never been witnessed in the West. Lincoln Kirstein was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan on March 26, 1984.