|
Sale 24
|
|
press UP arrow key to increase the zoom ratio.
press DOWN arrow key to decrease the zoom ratio.
press RIGHT arrow key to increase the zoom window size.
press LEFT arrow key to decrease the zoom window size.
|
|
Lot 74
Kennedy, John F. Two blood-stained pieces of leather from the back seat of the limousine in which President Kennedy was riding when he was shot on November 22, 1963. A 3 inch square piece of light-blue leather has visible blood stains; a 4 x 3 inch piece of dark blue leather comes from the border of the rear seat. Together with a photograph of the limousine, showing the blood-soaked back seat, that was taken for the Secret Service in the White House garage. The blood-stained leather was kept as a memento by F. Vaughn Ferguson who was the Technical Service Representative at the White House. In a November 22, 1982 letter to Raleigh DeGeer Amyx, typed on stationery imprinted with the Presidential Seal and "The White House / Washington, D.C.," Mr. Ferguson tells his story:
"The leather, light blue and dark blue, is from the automobile in which John F. Kennedy, President of the United States, was Assassinated on November 22, 1963. It was a royal blue Lincoln Continental. / Four days after the Assassination the White House upholsterer and I removed this leather at the White House. The light blue leather is from the center of the rear seat. The dark blue leather is from the border of the rear seat. The spots on the leather are the dried blood of our beloved President, John F. Kennedy. / Following the Assassination the Presidential Limousine was completely refurbished. About 2½ tons of weight was added, much of it in steel plating and 3 inch thick glass, bullet proof tires and other security features. The refurbishing was done according to Secret Service specifications by the Ford Motor Company and a Cincinnati Custom Body Firm by the name of Hess & Eisenhardt, Inc. The standard weight of a Continental is 5,100 pounds. The Limousine in which the President was killed weighed 6,500 pounds. By the time it was rebuilt for President Lyndon Johnson it weighed 11,210 pounds. This was some months later. President Johnson wanted the Limousine to be driven back from Cincinnati in secrecy. I drove it back during the night to avoid the press and photographers. My career at the White House spanned a twenty year period. There were some fun times, but this was not one of them. It was so sad." In a handwritten postscript, he adds, "President Kennedy was a Great Man. He was always Gracious to me…."
Included is a November 1983 newspaper interview with Ferguson, on the 20th anniversary of the assassination. In the interview, Ferguson gives more details. In part: "…Ferguson…was the liaison officer between the company [Ford] and the White House. He was responsible for the presidential automobiles….'Wherever that car went, I went,' Ferguson said of the presidential limousine. 'I was responsible for it.' But on the infamous day that the president was killed, Ferguson had opted to break tradition and stay in Washington. / 'The next weekend would have been the Army-Navy game in Philadelphia…President Kennedy always went to that game. I stayed to get things ready for the trip. We were to have a car in Philadelphia a couple of days early to have a dry run of the route. You always have a dry run.' It was a trip that never materialed. Instead, Ferguson spent the next three days trying to clean the car. 'There was blood everywhere,' Ferguson remembers. 'We never did get it all out.'" Ferguson remembers being told by Secret Service agents to return to the White House garage to begin the task of repairing the limousine, in case President Lyndon Johnson wanted to use it for the funeral. When he arrived at the garage, it was guarded by men from the FBI. "They jumped up at me like I was a gangster….When I started walking toward the car they warned me not to come any closer." He had to call the director of the Secret Service to get clearance to approach the car. The interview continues, "Ferguson said the FBI agents had ripped the leather seats and had dismantled parts of the car….'They told me they had to do it to find the bullet particles from the shooting.'" Ferguson worked Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to get the car ready, but President Johnson decided not to use it to ride to the funeral, which took place on Monday. When the repairs were completed, Ferguson kept some of the leather from the seats as a memento of the fallen President.
Estimated Value $35,000 - 45,000.
|
| |
| Realized $23,000 |
|
