Description: Kennedy John

John F. Kennedy, Original Blood-stained Leather from Dallas, Texas Limousine

Two swatches of blood-stained leather upholstery removed from JFK's presidential limousine after he was assassinated, each 4" x .3.25", one is light blue from the center of the rear seat, and one is dark blue from the border of the rear seat. The leather is accompanied by superb provenance and a letter of authenticity from F. Vaughn Ferguson, Technical Service Representative at the White House, who was present for the removal of the leather from the limousine after Kennedy's assassination (details of his letter shown below).

On November 22, 1963, 35th U.S. President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy (1929-1994) traveled through downtown Dallas in the presidential limousine, a modified 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible. The presidential limousine, given code name SS-100-X, had been lengthened, reinforced, and fitted with special handles and foot rails for Secret Service agents. It also featured a bespoke dark blue leather upholstery manufactured by Hess & Eisenhardt of Cincinnati, Ohio. These leather fragments came from the blood-spattered rear seat, obtained upon the removal of the leather upholstery by Ferguson and the White House upholster, four days after his death. The pieces were later sold or gifted to long time collector Raleigh Amyx who at the time was on a mission to amass a Presidential collection both substantial enough, and with iron clad provenance such that it would end up in a presidential museum.

The letter of authenticity, dated "November 22, 1982", describes the events of the refurbishment of the "death" car, and was typed on White House stationary letterhead with a hand written post script. Signed TWICE by Ferguson:

"To Raleigh DeGeer Amyx,

The leather, light blue and dark blue, is from the automobile in which john F. Kennedy, President of the United States, was Assassinated in, on November 22, 1963. It was a royal blue Lincoln Continental.

Four days after the Assassination, the White House upholster 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 refurbished. About 2 1/2 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 Presidnet [sic] 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.

Sincerely,

F.V. Ferguson

Technical Service Representative

at the White House

P.S.

President Kennedy was a Great Man. He was always gracious to me. I miss him. This was a sad time for me. 11-22-82".

Following the crime scene investigation, SS-100-X was cleaned and rebuilt from the ground up with special features, like armored plating, bullet-proof windows, and flat-proof tire rims. LBJ rode in this modified limousine until 1967.

Chain of Custody/Provenance: From F. Vaughn Ferguson, White House Technical Service Representative, to The Raleigh De Geer Amyx Collection of Presidential Memorabilia. Accompanied by an original pamphlet describing the Amyx Collection, a photograph of Ferguson signing the letter of provenance, and 3 photographic prints of the limousine from before and after the assassination.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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