LOT #47063 |
Sold on Dec 1, 2022 for: Not Sold
John F. Kennedy. White House Physician, Dr. Janet P. Travell's personal P & P Carolina Rocker, the first rocking chair in ...
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Description
President Kennedy's White House Physician, Dr. Janet Travell's Personal P & P Carolina Rocker
The First Rocker He Ever Sat In and the Very Chair She Went On to Treat Him with in the Senate and the White House
John F. Kennedy. White House Physician, Dr. Janet P.
Travell's personal P & P Carolina Rocker, the first rocking chair
in which Kennedy sat during his visit to her office as a young
Senator in May 1955 and the very chair with which she treated his
chronic back pain as a Senator and in the White House. This chair
is the "Genesis" of all the "Kennedy Rockers" that came after.
Constructed of Carolina oak with back and seat of fine interwoven
steam-bent cane, with curved runners and high back for comfort. The
chair was made by P & P Chair Company of Asheboro, North Carolina,
and has since become known as the "Kennedy Rocker."John F. Kennedy first visited Dr. Janet Travell's New York City office on May 26, 1955. He was thin, ill, suffering from poor nutrition, and still on crutches while recuperating from a spinal fusion surgery in October. He was also dealing with intense knee pain from an old Harvard football injury and had great difficulty navigating the two steps up to Travell's office. It was during this first consultation that he sat in this very Carolina rocker that she had in her office. He found this chair so comfortable that Dr. Travell suggested he buy one. In the intervening weeks, Kennedy underwent a follow-up surgery in Washington to remove a plate in his back. He requested that Dr. Travell attend to him during his recovery in the hospital, and she thoughtfully brought this rocker along with her so that he could use it in his hospital room while convalescing. Shortly thereafter, Travell ordered the first of what would become the Kennedy Rockers for the young Senator for use in his Senate office.
When Kennedy became president in 1961, Dr. Travell was appointed White House physician, and the President's rocker from the Senate Office Building was installed in the Oval Office. That May, the President aggravated his old back injury during a tree-planting ceremony in Ottawa and acquired more rockers. Eventually he installed several rocking chairs in the White House; the others were sent to Camp David and the Kennedy family homes in Palm Beach and Hyannis Port. He also brought them along to hotels he frequented, and one even found a semi-permanent home aboard Air Force One. Photographs of President Kennedy sitting in a rocker, conferring with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson as well as foreign heads of state became world famous. The president once told reporters that the rocker was his favorite piece of furniture.
Given the severity and complexity of his back injuries, together with his poor response to conventional treatment, it is now generally accepted that without the unique expertise of Dr. Travell and her careful attention to Kennedy's ergonomic recovery, the hobbled Senator's political career would have ended prematurely.
The rocker is accompanied by an extensive archive of primary research material and provenance, including:
1. Dr. Travell's two-page reply letter to JFK requesting a medical statement on his health dated July 21, 1959
2. Dr. Travell's P & P Chair Company invoice + bill of lading to procure four rocking chairs for the president dated July 14, 1961
3. photos of Dr. Travell seated in this chair
4. Memos on White House letterhead, June 1961 to May 1963, related to the Kennedy rockers and a request to attend a musculoskeletal symposium in San Antonio
5. Memo on White House letterhead regarding her redesign to the White House swimming pool steps to facilitate easier access for the president to get in, and out, of the pool
6. Original letters to and from White House upholsterer, Larry Arata, and Pierre Salinger
7. Several letters and memos related to rocking chairs procured for Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy, as well as requests for Travell to redesign seats for the Kennedy family's personal airplane
8. Note from 1957 to ship a rocking chair to Ted Kennedy, while he was a student at University of Virginia School of Law
9. Original P & P Chair Company rocking chair brochure
10. Numerous magazine and newspaper article clippings, and other ephemera on JFK and his rocking chairs
A phenomenal artifact from the Kennedy years and the "Genesis" of all the Kennedy Rockers that came after. This personal chair, from the office of the first woman to hold the position of White House physician, is especially poignant given its importance to the president's health.
Condition: The rocker exhibits general wear from years of good use in Travell's offices.
Provenance: The rocker and extensive accompanying documentation were acquired directly from the Estate of Dr. Janet P. Travell, Skinner, 2004. From the Melvin "Pete" Mark, Jr. Collection
Auction Info
2022 December 1 Historical Platinum Session Signature® Auction #6267 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
December, 2022
1st
Thursday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 0
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 1,489
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 15% of any amount over $3,000,000 per lot.
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