"THE REMEDY IS KENNEDY" RARE 1960 LIBRARY PORTRAIT BUTTON ALA 'JFK BIG 4'.
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Winning Bid:
$6,785.00 (Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bids:
10
Bidding Ended:
Monday, May 20, 2024 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Monday, May 20, 2024 9:00:00 PM)
Time Left:
Ended
Auction:
1032 Session I
Value Code:
L - $2,000 to $5,000 Help Icon
Item Description
2.25" w/horizontal bar pin. Produced by Frank Allen Specialties in New York City. More typically found in a 3" size carrying the slogan "It Seems To Me It's Kennedy" as featured on the cover of Harvey Goldberg's Kennedy collecting guide "The Campaign Items Of John F. Kennedy." This slightly smaller example carrying this especially desirable slogan and razor sharp portrait is only the second example we can recall encountering. The faintest bump from bar pin construction mentioned for extreme accuracy. Otherwise super clean glossy surface w/almost no surface wear. NM. An important rarity from John Hillhouse's legendary JFK collection.

Frank Allen, owner of Frank Allen Specialties in New York City, was a friend of the Kennedy family and in 1960 he produced four now legendary pin-back button designs that were ultimately rejected. The handed down story, linked to Dave Powers JFK's confidant starting in his 1946 Congressional campaign, goes that Allen carried some samples along on a trip to the Hyannis where the notoriously hot-tempered Joseph Kennedy Sr. became infuriated with the designs shouting "My son is going to be the next President of the United States you can't use ugly pictures like this!" Whatever the reality the buttons were never produced in quantities more than the sample run of 36 and only a few have survived to this day. They have become the holy grail for Kennedy button collectors and rank among the most sought-after artifacts within the organized hobby of campaign button collecting.
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