By RR Auction

February 6, 2015: Incredible, never-before-released original photographic proof booklet, containing 27 images of John and Jacqueline Kennedy will be part of an upcoming live auction event by Boston, MA based RR Auction.

The astonishing images include: Jackie smoking freely; the first lady sitting cross legged, bare feet and hands clearly on display; a back-brace-free, shirtless JFK swimming (proof strip notated on reverse, “hold”), Jack enjoying himself on a yacht and exhibiting uncharacteristic strength by pulling himself up the boat ladder; the president sitting at a round table whilst intently speaking with Bunny Mellon about redesigning the White House Rose Garden; and JFK smoking a cigar and behind the wheel of a small boat.

The unpublished images taken by Washington Post heiress Katharine Graham at Bunny Mellon’s Cape Cod beach shack, produced directly from the original negatives - show JFK and Jackie on an August 1961 visit.

The lot also includes 15 high-quality original photographs of various finishes. All but one of the photos (contained in the proof book) picture Jack and Jackie, either together or separate. Most images show the Kennedy's and their friends gathered on the back patio of the Mellon’s quaint beach shack, but there are a few on the beach front, in the water, on a larger boat, and on a small boat with just Jack, Jackie, and Eunice Kennedy.

The 26-acre Mellon estate, set in Cape Cod’s Osterville, and featuring 1,000 feet of continuous shoreline, was sold in 2013 for nearly 20 million. Despite that, the here-offered photos were unpretentiously shot at the sprawling estate’s beach shack.

The Mellon home was one town over from the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, rendering it prime territory for the Kennedy’s to make a quick trip over and spend some quality time. This would explain why a few of the photos picture only Jack, Jackie, and Eunice Kennedy boarding a small boat together - their transportation to the Kennedy compound.

“These exceptionally private, unrehearsed moments of Camelot’s first couple convey a carefree happiness seldom found during their brief White House tenure,” said Bobby Livingston, Exec VP at RR Auction.

Bidding begins February 12-18, followed by a live auction event on February 19 that will take place at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge. More details can be found online at  www.rrauction.com.

Source: RR Auction