Head over to International Autograph Auctions on 16th March for the opportunity to purchase two unique pieces of John F. Kennedy political memorabilia.
First up is Lot 1578 which is an 11 inch by 15 inch black and white photograph of President John F Kennedy.
The image is the official portrait of the President taken by photographer Louis Fabian Bacharach in the Senate Office Building in Washington D.C, and showing JFK seating, holding papers, in a three-quarter length pose.
JFK has signed in the bottom part of the mount:
"For Jimmy Van Heusen - with my warmest regards, John Kennedy".
Van Heusen was an Academy Award winning American composer, whose song High Hopes had been used as the theme song for JFK's 1960 Presidential campaign.
The photo carries an estimate of €4,000 - €6,000.
The Celebrity Memorabilia Index shows the value of a JFK signed photo is currently £2,550.
The second item Lot 1579, is slightly more macabre.
With an estimate of €3,000 - €4,000 you could be the proud owner of a small swatch of blood stained blue leather car upholstery.
The swatch measures a half-inch by half-inch, and is claimed to have come from the rear seat of Kennedy's Lincoln continental convertible, shortly after his assassination.
The blood stained swatch has been professionally graded and slabbed with a CAG certificate label.
The provenance states that the item came from the collection of Raleigh DeGeer Amyx, the well known historian, author and collector, who had the artifact authenticated by F. Vaughn Ferguson - the White House representative who assisted the White House upholsterer in removing the seat leather after JFK's death.
You can follow both items at IAA.
About your Author:
Adrian Roose has over 30 years’ experience covering all aspects of the rare stamp & memorabilia industry during which he has sold over £50m of unique items, helping build collections for Royalty, household name celebrities and 1,000s of collectors around the world.
Adrian was previously a Director at Stanley Gibbons, a Board Member of Stampex, and Executive Director of Paul Fraser Collectibles, PFC Auctions and JustCollecting, prior to founding The Memorabilia Club.