John F. Kennedy White House used coffee table

[KENNEDY, JOHN F.]

Coffee table used in Kennedy White House. A rectangular mahogany coffee table by Drexel (with their stencil markings), with a central drawer and fluted legs, about 59 inches (L) x 17 1/2 inches (H) x 20 inches (D). Scratches to surface and other wear from use.

Provenance: Marty Underwood, Special Assistant to President Kennedy, acquired 1964; to collector Robert L. White, acquired 1992 (accompanied by a notarized letter of provenance); sold Guernsey's John F. Kennedy: The Robert L. White Collection, 15-17 December 2005, lot 606; to Camrose & Kross and successor company Clarion-Pell, LLC, Boonton, New Jersey; by donation from Clarion-Pell to the Kinnelon Public Library, Kinnelon, New Jersey.

A stylish coffee table used in the Oval Office during the first months of the Camelot years. According to the copy of Marty Underwood's letter, the table was used in the Oval Office in the sitting area in 1961 before being moved to Kennedy's "presidential relaxation room" where it was used until the offices were cleared following the assassination. After residing in Underwood's office a while, he was allowed to keep it. Underwood also mentions in the letter that he related to White "some other interesting little stories about this table which I did not really want to include in this letter." These stories are likely lost to history but it is fun to imagine the cocktails, cigars and casual conversations that likely occurred in Kennedy's private chamber.
Condition Report: No condition report? Click below to request one. *Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.Request a condition report