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It
is a tradition in the Pearl Industry of creating pearl replicas of
significant monumental structures. First in 1926, Mikimoto created a
replica of the Five Storied Pagoda (Japanese Temple) and took it to the
Philadelphia World Fair, it is now in the Mikimoto Museum. Then in
1933, he visited Mount Vernon (birthplace of George Washington) and was
so impressed by the town he produced a replica of it and donated it to
the Smithsonian Museum. In 1939, Mikimoto crafted the Liberty Bell out
of pearls with the intent to donate it as a peace offering before WWII
but war broke out and he didn''t donate it. The Capitol was commissioned by Imperial Pearl
Syndicate to Japanese Company in 1959. It was presented to the U.S.
Historical Society on February 1, 1966 as "a tribute to the rebirth of
the cultured pearl industry after World War II." (Peter Bazar,
President of Imperial-Deltah)

United
States Historical Society gave up ownership of the Pearl Capital in
2005 due to space constraints. The Historical Society commissioned
Sloans & Kenyon to auction the Capital. The Society would put the
revenues towards their educational programs. Once this decision was
made by Society, they contacted Imperial and who immediately bought it
back.

(Former Vice President of the United States,
Hubert G. Humphrey)
Right
after the acquisition of the Capitol, Imperial displayed it at trade
shows and other events, but due to its fragile nature and difficulty to
transport, its circulation stopped. Although, it is available for
significant events and we will be reassessing its travel plans for the
future.

(Name of Model in front of Capital wearing the pearl dress, crown and necklace's name is unknown)
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