Auctions | October 20, 2014

JFK Wedding Negatives Sell for $34,000 at Auction

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BOSTON, MA—A collection of 13 original negatives from the wedding of John F. and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy sold on Wednesday night for $34,073 according to Boston, MA based RR Auction.

John and Jacqueline Kennedy were married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island.

Among the negatives are images of the wedding party, both the newlyweds outside the church, and the couple cutting their wedding cake.

The images were found in the darkroom of Arthur Borges, by a family member after his passing in 1993.

After much media attention, additional family members came forward, detailing that they believed that the images most likely taken by another photographer Frank Ataman, a colleague of Borges, who had owned a bridal / photography shop in Fall River, MA.  

“The sale far exceeded our pre-auction estimates and continues to help establish us for such unique specialty material,” said Livingston.

The consignor of the lot said that the proceeds would be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project and an additional charity. The winning bidder was a Doctor from Las Vegas, NV — who commented that they were thrilled with the purchase, but wished to remain anonymous.

Highlights from the sale include, but are not limited by:

An amazing collection of over 400 letters, documents, and other various formats, spanning a remarkable seven centuries of church history, sold for $90,676.

A four page Lord Byron letter, sold for $36,093.

Exceedingly rare 1963 John and Jacqueline Kennedy holiday card, signed mere days before the assassination, sold for $19,500.

The online auction, which began on September 26 and ended on October 15 at 7PM. More details and a complete list of results can be found online at www.rrauction.com.

Image courtesy of RR Auction.