Lot 59
Joesph Kennedy's 14k Gold Christmas Gift Watch from John F. Kennedy, 1945
14K Bulova watch with Speidel band given to Joseph Kennedy by John F. Kennedy. Inscribed on the back of the case “To Dad from Jack – Christmas 1945”. From former Kennedy home in Hull, Massachusetts.Although Hyannis Port is now known as the Kennedy compound, from the turn of the last century and for many years thereafter, the Kennedy families summered in Hull, Massachusetts. In 1915, then-Mayor of Boston John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, father of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and grandfather of President John F. Kennedy, purchased a house in Hull as a summer retreat for the family. After Rose married Joseph Kennedy, her father built a second home there for her and her family. Joseph and Rose’s eldest son Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. was born in Hull, and as a child John F. Kennedy reportedly played on the beach below the property. During this time, Hull was frequented by many well-known personalities of the era from the entertainment world as well the intelligentsia: George M. Cohan, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernardt and Henry David Thoreau among them. The Kennedy family sold the properties many years ago. In preparation to resell the Kennedy house yet again, the then-current owner – through his real estate agent – commissioned a gentleman to thoroughly clean the house and empty it of all remaining contents. During this process, the gentleman discovered a 14K gold Bulova watch inscribed “To Dad from Jack, Christmas 1945.” The consignor purchased this watch from him.
Estimate: $15,000 - $20,000