Heritage Auctions – Online Americana & Political Signature Auction
April 26-27
View All Lots and Bid at HA.com/6286

DALLAS — When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, a nation mourned. But nobody felt the impact more than Kennedy’s family.

The shots fired from a sixth-floor window while Kennedy’s motorcade rolled through Dealey Plaza in Dallas sent shockwaves across the country and around the globe. Politicians began to reconsider their careers and it completely consumed national media: all three major US networks suspended their regular schedules and switched to all-news coverage for some 70 hours, making it the longest uninterrupted news event on American TV until 9/11. CBS Washington correspondent Roger Mudd put it this way: “It was a death that touched everyone instantly and directly; rare was the person who did not cry that long weekend.”

The country reeled from the shock of the assassination. At her late husband’s funeral, his widow, Jacqueline, read from Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3, verses 1-8.

The “Inauguration” Bible from which she read during the service will find a new home when it is offered in Heritage’s April 26-27 Americana and political Signature auction.

This Bible was given to the Kennedy family by Cardinal Richard Cushing. Although it carries the “Inauguration” moniker, it was not the Kennedy Family Bible used when Kennedy took the oath of office. The cover is gold-stamped on the bottom “January 20, 1961” — the day Kennedy was inaugurated. The flyleaf has an attached bookplate, featuring the presidential seal. Above that, Jacqueline Kennedy wrote a note: “Bible we used the night Jack died to choose Ecclesiastes to be read at his funeral. JBK 1963.”

Among the items retrieved during cleanup efforts after the September 11, 2001, attacks was a 9/11 World Trade Center Recovered American flag. Most of the recovered flags went to public institutions, including the Smithsonian, the New York State Museum and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Because of the large number of government offices in the World Trade Center buildings and the tradition of flag ownership by private individuals, it is believed that hundreds of flags were inside the buildings. But only a handful, including the one offered in this auction, survived the fires and the collapse of the towers. WTC flags that are in the highest demand are Debris Field Flags like this one, which measures 58 by 34 inches and was recovered by first responder Vito Messana.

A Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid: Harry Longabaugh (“Sundance Kid”) signed postcard was sent by Harry Longabaugh — better known as the Sundance Kid (his story, of course, is immortalized in the film starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford). The handwritten card, featuring an image of Balance Rock in the Garden of the Gods in Colorado, was sent September 4, 1904, from Thistle, Utah, to Longabaugh’s brother, Clarence, in Dodge City, Minn. Harry Longabaugh explains on the card that he had been “moving a lot” and that he was in Utah because “Leroy” — Butch Cassidy’s real name was Robert Leroy Parker, and he often answered to his middle name — wanted to be there. What makes this postcard such a collector’s prize is the fact that it was sent — and intercepted — by law enforcement officials who were trying to track down Longabaugh. The address side is stamped “Pinkerton Det. Agy. Hold” — evidence that law enforcement was intercepting mail addressed to his family (he had four siblings) in an effort to pinpoint his location. There was a $30,000 reward offered for his capture. Other examples of Longabaugh’s handwriting have not been found, but there are notable features that support the legitimacy of the card, including the spelling errors that are consistent with his lack of formal education, the postmarks are from the right time frame and the Pinkerton rubber stamp.

Smartphones have become must-have items these days, but one of the hottest collecting trends centers on the hunt for the earliest examples, making a first-generation 4GB iPhone, sealed in box with Apple drawstring bag a must-have addition to any collection. Not only was this phone a first-generation prototype, but it was quickly discontinued, just two months after its 2007 debut.

Among the rarities up for grabs in this auction will be a pair of George Washington’s personally-owned shoe buckles. Resting on pink silk-covered cushions in a domed, leather-covered wooden box, these colonial-era steel, silver and gold shoe buckles belonged to the first American president.

Heritage Auctions is at 2801 West Airport Freeway Northwest corner of West Airport Freeway and Valley View Lane. For information, www.ha.com or 214-528-3500.

John F. Kennedy “Inauguration” Bible Used by Jackie Kennedy for JFK’s Funeral Service
U. S. House of Representatives Desk and Chair
World War I Iconic Uncle Sam Recruiting Poster by James Montgomery Flagg
Abraham Lincoln John Wilkes Booth Assassination Broadside

New York State National Guard 18K Gold & Enamel Presentation Medal
Abraham Lincoln John Wilkes Booth Assassination Broadside
Henry Clay Wonderful Coon & Fox Campaign Flag
Western Union Thomas A. Edison Classic 1920’s Stock Ticker Tape Machine with Glass Dome
George Washington Personally Owned Shoe Buckles
U. S. House of Representatives Desk and Chair
George Washington Folk Art Oil on Panel Attributed to Frederick Kemmelmeyer
Inquiries: 877-HERITAGE(437-4824)
Don Ackerman I Ext. 1884 I DonA@HA.com I Managing Director
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