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THBJohn F. Kennedy Personally-Used Cake Knife from the 1961 Presidential Inauguration Ball
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About Auction
LiveMay 15, 2024
Boasting nearly 800 lots, RR Auction's May Fine Autographs and Artifacts sale is highlighted by a section honoring the anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's birth—including important signed photographs, a remarkable Kennedy family-signed book, a knife used to slice his inaugural cake, a page from his pioneering Peace Corps legislation, and scarce teletype reports on his assassination. RR Auction support@rrauction.com
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- Lot Description
Historic Reed & Barton sterling silver cake knife used by President John F. Kennedy when he sliced into the massive three-tiered ‘White House’ cake at the Inaugural Ball, which was held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on January 20, 1961. The knife, measuring 10.5″ in length, features a gold-tone handle that is engraved on the front, “President John F. Kennedy, Jan. 20, 1961,” and the reverse, “Inaugural Cake Presented By American Bakery & Confect’y Workers Int’l Union,” whose “ABC / AFL-CIO” stamp is also present on the handle’s front. The flat underside of the knife bears the maker’s mark: “Reed & Barton, Mirrorstele, Sterling Handle.” In fine condition, with trivial scuffs from use.
Kennedy’s inaugural cake was baked and assembled by the American Bakery and Confectionery Workers Union for a total cost of $10,000. Whipped together with 500 pounds of butter, 600 pounds of flour, 500 pounds of sugar, and 335 dozen eggs, the inaugural three-tiered cake was 7 feet square at the base and featured a three-foot-long replica of the White House on the top layer. In front of the White House was a small fountain that spouted real water. Only the president, vice president, and their wives were allowed a piece of the big cake; all other attendees were served pre-cut pieces from another cake baked by the ABC.
Accompanied by a letter of provenance from the son of the knife’s original owner, in part: “My grandfather Kenneth Wynne was an appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut in the mid-1950s. He was very close with Connecticut Governor Chester Bowles who had been Ambassador to India. Bowles served as Governor from 1949 through 1951. He went on to be elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives and in 1961 John F. Kennedy appointed him Undersecretary of State.
My father, Kenneth Wynne, Jr., went to work for Chester Bowles as executive secretary in the late 1950s. He was very active in campaigning for JFK and, in January of 1961, he was invited to attend the Inaugural Ball as a guest of Chester Bowles. Bowles was a VIP guest so they had seats very close to the new President for the event.
As waiters were clearing the table toward the end of the event, my father noticed that they had left behind the cake knife that Kennedy used to cut the first slice of the Inaugural cake. He turned around to Chester Bowles and asked casually, ‘Chet, do you think anyone would miss that cake knife they left on the table?’ Bowles then walked over to the table, picked up the knife, wiped it with a napkin and handed it to my father and said, ‘Ken, put this in your pocket. It’s a souvenir.’’ - Shipping Info
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