Pens Used By JFK and LBJ to Sign Legislation Like Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act Offered in Heritage’s Americana & Political Auction

Kennedy White House Portrait study and fragment of George Washington’s Battle of Trenton Flag also among Nov. 1-2 event’s highlights DOWNLOAD DIGITAL PRESS KIT DALLAS, Texas (October 9, 2024) — A framed collection of pens used by American presidents to sign some of the most historically significant legislation in U.S. history will write its next chapter when it is sold in Heritage’s Americana & Political Signature® Auction November 1-2. The John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson: Collection of Presidential Bill Signing Pens offered in this auction is likely the finest trove of Bill Signing Pens ever assembled, with 50 fountain pens used by the country’s 35th and 36th presidents to sign major legislation. Among the most significant bills signed into law with pens from this collection was the Civil Rights Act, which Johnson signed July 2, 1964. Also inked with pens found in this collection were the Minimum Wage Act (May 1961), the Peace Corps Act (September 1961), the Clean Air Act (December 1963), the Food Stamp Act, the Voting Rights Act (August 1965), Immigration Act (October 1965) and the 25th Amendment (Presidential Continuity) to the Constitution (February 1967). “Any pen used by an American president to sign a piece of legislation into law immediately becomes an important historical keepsake,” says Don Ackerman, Managing Director of Political Americana at Heritage Auctions, “and the fact that this collection includes pens that were used to sign some of the most important legislation of the last six decades only increases the desirability. Given the importance of some of the laws signed with these pens, and the sheer quantity of pens in this frame make it more than reasonable to call this the best collection of presidential pens ever assembled.” The pens were given to William Eastman of the Housing and Urban Development Department, and are being consigned by Eastman’s grandson. Another candidate for top-lot honors in the auction is a magnificent John F. Kennedy: Official White House Portrait Study by Aaron Shikler that served as the model for Kennedy’s official White House portrait. This charcoal study, with an overall size of 44 by 52 inches, is signed by the artist in the lower left as “AAS.” It was commissioned by Babcock Galleries of New York and completed by Shikler in 1989. Bidders can transport to one of the most famous birthday parties in American history via a John F. Kennedy: 1962 Poster for “New York’s Birthday Salute” with Marilyn Monroe, Including Handbill, Ticket and Program. This remarkable lot includes a 14-by-20-inch cardboard window card advertising $10, $25 and $100 tickets to a May 19, 1962 event for Kennedy’s birthday at Madison Square Garden. Below Kennedy’s portrait is a lineup of some of the world’s most famous talents, including Monroe, the most celebrated of all American blonde bombshells. Monroe sang Happy Birthday, with “Mr. President” inserted in place of his first name, continued with a snippet of “Thanks for the Memory.” When a large birthday cake was rolled out and Kennedy took the stage, he cracked, “I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthdaysung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.” Additional items in the lot include a 6-by-9-inch handbill for the event with an order form to purchase tickets in the lower margin, a $10 contribution ticket to the event, a four-page bifolium program titled “Happy Birthday Mr. President” handed out to attendees and two 8-by-10 photographs of Monroe — one on stage performing her steamy rendition of Happy Birthday in the infamous, custom-made sequin gown, and the other of her flanked by John and Bobby Kennedy. Other top highlights in the auction include, but are not limited to: A Revolutionary War: Highly Important Powder Horn and More A William Stone Declaration of Independence Together With a Copy of Peter Force’s Book, “American Archives” A framed Relic of George Washington’s Battle of Trenton Flag A Union Army Civil War 34-Star Battle Flag: New York 4th Cavalry Regiment (New York City) A Western Union: Early Circa 1871 Thomas Edison Stock Ticker Machine with Accessories A Wright Brothers: Kitty Hawk Flight Wing Fabric Swatch Images and information about all lots in the auction can be found at Heritage Auctions is the largest fine art and collectibles auction house founded in the United States, and the world's largest collectibles auctioneer. Heritage maintains offices in New York, Dallas, Beverly Hills, Chicago, Palm Beach, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong and Tokyo. 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