An exact replica of President John F. Kennedy’s iconic upholstered rocking chair, made by Larry and Norma Arata, the same couple who made Kennedy’s personal chair. Rocking chair measures approximately 43″ tall, with the base measuring approximately 24″ wide, and 33″ from front to back, and is upholstered in the exact same material as Kennedy’s original. Made for Raleigh DeGeer Amyx in 1982, the back of the upholstery bears an Arata label which reads, “Larry Arata’s Custom Upholstery of the Kennedy Rocker,” as well as an engraved brass plaque which reads: “Exact copy of authentic custom upholstered President John F. Kennedy’s rocker crafted for him by Lawrence J. Arata, White House staff, and duplicated for Raleigh and Hilda Amyx, Nov. 22, 1982.” President Kennedy frequently used this style of rocking chair to alleviate his chronic back pain. He had additional rockers for his homes and Camp David, and would travel with the chair on Air Force One.
Also included is a 14 x 13 swatch of black cambric, which was leftover material used to drape the East Room of the White House after the assassination of President Kennedy. Material is accompanied by a detailed 1983 letter of provenance on White House letterhead from White House staff members Larry and Norma Arata. Letter reads, in part: “It is with sadness I present to you a piece of black cambric…which was leftover from the material used in the East Room immediately following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy…When the assassination occurred, Mrs. Kennedy…requested that the exterior and interior of the White House be decorated as closely as possible to the way it was when President Lincoln lay in state in the East Room in 1865…We draped the black cambric over the fireplaces, drapes, chandeliers, mantel pieces, windows, the White House exterior and the area in which our beloved President would lie in state. We worked all night and up until 4:30 am on Nov. 23, 1963. At that moment a dramatic event took place…The First Lady entered the room with Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General, by her side. There were no more than a dozen people in the East Room as the President’s body arrived…The rest is history.” Accompanied by a color photo of Norma Arata seated in the rocker with black cambric material in her lap, and a photo of Kennedy’s casket being placed in the East Room of the White House. The Arata’s were close to the Kennedys, with Larry Arata having been specifically brought to the White House at the behest of the first lady. After JFK’s assassination, both Arata’s were in the East Room of the White House when Mrs. Kennedy entered in the middle of the night, still wearing her blood stained clothing, to kneel at the side of her husband’s coffin for the very first time. A one-of-a-kind replica of Kennedy’s instantly-recognizable chair, as well as material readied for that somber day in November of 1963—all in all, a heart gripping dual offering.
