Opening Day Auction Closing May 9th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/10/2015
From the extensive collection of presidential memorabilia gatherer Raliegh Greer Amyx, this fascinating connection to one of the most horrific moments in American History is a ¼” x 1/8” piece of blood stained leather fabric removed from the back seat of the 1961 Lincoln Continental limousine President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated in Dallas Texas on November 22, 1963. Amyx obtained this small snippet of dark blue leather upholstery in 1983 from Ford Motor Company Technical Service Representative F. Vaughn Ferguson who was employed by the White House and responsible for presidential automobiles for more than 20 years dating back to the Truman administration. In a type-written personal letter of authenticity written by Vaughn to Amyx on White House Stationery with a handwritten (20th anniversary) date of Nov. 22 1983 added, Ferguson stated:
“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 2 ½ 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…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.” Ferguson is also quoted in Raleigh Deeger Amyx Collection documents speaking of the condition of the car when he was called upon for the refurbishment: “There was blood everywhere. We never did get it all out.”
Upon completion of the repairs Ferguson retained some of the leather from the seats as a remembrance of JFK.
The piece presented here has been mounted and hermetically sealed in a black felt bordered 11” x 14” archival display containing a small 3” x 4.5: color photo of President Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline riding in the limo on that fateful day and comes with a COA dated January 10, 2010 signed by John Reznikoff president of University Archives with the following item description: “Bloodstained leather from the dark blue edge of the rear seat from the 1961 Lincoln Continental President John F. Kennedy was riding in when he was assassinated, November 22, 1963.”
Also included are 13 photo-copied pages concerning the Amyx collection including photos of the blood stained back seat of the Limousine and a description of three other pieces of “upholstery sections with the Amyx provenance [that] have come to market. A New York firm sold one during the disposition of the framed Robert White Kennedy collection in 2005, where it fetched $24,000. Another was sold several years earlier by a west coast firm, bringing a reported $20,000 plus buyer’s premium.