AUBURN – For three weeks, craftsmen at Thos. Moser created chairs for the pope and the president, and by order of the White House, they couldn’t tell anyone.

Workers gathered in the company’s conference room Wednesday to watch streaming video of Pope Benedict XVI and President Bush settle into the Harpswell-style arm chairs on what was both the pope’s 81st birthday and the first visit by a pontiff to the White House in 29 years.

On Thursday, the gag lifted.

Marketing manager Scott Wentzell said a senior official walked into Thos. Moser’s Washington, D.C., showroom at the end of March and asked about ordering a pair of high-quality, American-made chairs specifically for the pope’s visit.

“It was an immediate, ‘Let’s jump through hoops to get this done,'” he said. “It certainly is an incredible honor to have the White House think of Thomas Moser for craftsmanship.”

The sleek walnut dining chairs, which typically take three months to make, retail for $1,675 each. They were ultimately given as a gift by the company.

“No tax dollars were harmed in the making of these,” quipped Wentzell.

The company has been told that the chairs, in the White House for now, will wind up in the future George W. Bush presidential library.

CEO Tom Moser and three of his sons were in the audience on the South Lawn and were given a private tour of the West Wing after the ceremony. Moser signed and dated the chairs, according to Wentzell.

Typically made in cherry, the Harpswell chair is Thos. Moser’s most popular piece of furniture. The 36-year-old company, with a workshop in Auburn, has outfitted movies and TV shows before, including ABC’s “Commander in Chief.”

Orders weren’t yet coming in as a result of the sighting, Wentzell said, but, “We have heard from people who saw the chairs and recognized them as Moser who wanted to say congrats.”