Pair of cream-colored rotary telephones from the presidential suite of the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, used by the Kennedys on November 21, 1963, the night before traveling to Dallas. Both were manufactured by Western Electric, embellished with White House emblems in the center of the dials, and installed in the hotel specifically for the president’s visit. In overall very good condition, with general scattered surface spotting and soiling, and a hairline crack above the dial of one phone; one phone retains its original four-prong plug at the end of the cord, and end of the other cord has been severed and plug is absent.
When President and Mrs. Kennedy arrived at the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, on November 21, they found the Presidential Suite, #850, perfectly to their liking, from the priceless artwork adorning the walls to the two Southwestern Bell phones installed just for their brief stay. On the morning of the 22nd, Kennedy left his room to speak at a breakfast hosted by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce before heading outside to address a crowd of thousands. After departing for Dallas, the room was cleared—the art returned to the museums and private collectors who donated it for the day, and the phones returned to the Southwestern Bell warehouse. It was from there that a district sales and service manager (and staunch Kennedy supporter) bought the pair as souvenirs, taking advantage of his company’s policy of allowing employees to buy directly from the warehouse. A charming memento from the site of Kennedy’s final speech. RR Auction COA.
