COLLECTION OF FIFTEEN PENS PRESIDENT KENNEDY USED TO SIGN LANDMARK LAWS
Easterbrook fountain pens each imprinted "The President - The White House", used in signing some of the most important legislation of the Kennedy administration, including laws pertaining to nuclear disarmament, protection of the environment and the establishment of the Peace Corps. Accompanied by a letter of authentication from Dave Powers, the first curator of the John F. Kennedy Library. Also includes two colored photographs of John F. Kennedy signing legislation in the Oval Office. Pens housed together in a shadow box frame with plaque marked "Landmark Laws of the John F. Kennedy Administration 1961-1963" and plaques identifying each pen. Shadow box 13.75" x 19.75".
Pens used in signing the following legislation:
1) Executive Order 10924 establishing the Peace Corps, March 1, 1961. Orders the State Department to establish a temporary Peace Corps, which would send trained and able Americans to areas of need throughout the world. The Peace Corps Act was enacted later that year, establishing a permanent agency.
2) Area Redevelopment Act, May 1, 1961. Authorizes the Area Redevelopment Administration to borrow money from the Treasury to finance loans for industrial and rural redevelopment, purchase or development of lands, technical assistance and vocational training.

3) Social Security Benefits, June 30, 1961. Extended Social Security benefits, raised the minimum monthly benefit, lowered the collection age from 65 to 62 at a reduced rate, and increased benefits to survivors and dependents.

4) Housing Act Bill, June 30, 1961. Drastically increased Federal funds for urban renewal, elderly housing, mass transit incentives and utility improvements.

5) Federal Water Pollution HR 6441, July 20, 1961. Doubled the Federal effort to stop water pollution.

6) National Seashore Park HR 5857, August 7, 1961. Established the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.

7) Wheat and Feed Grain Bill, August 8, 1961. Aimed to reduce crop surplus and increase farm income.

8) Juvenile Delinquency and Youth Offenses Control Act of 1961, September 22, 1961. Established the first Federal program to combat juvenile delinquency.

9) U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, September 26, 1961. Created the first comprehensive agency aimed at disarmament.

10) Public Welfare Amendments of 1962, July 26, 1962. The first update of public welfare legislation since the program was established in 1938, the Amendment provided for work training and family rehabilitation.

11) World's Largest Atomic Power Plant, September 26, 1962. Authorized construction of a plant in Hanford, Washington.

12) Trade Expansion Act, October 11, 1962. Strengthened trade with Europe through reduced tariffs.

13) Racial Discrimination Act of 1962, November 20, 1962. Barred racial and religious discrimination in federally funded housing.

14) Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, October 7, 1963. Prohibited above-ground nuclear testing, signed jointly by the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom. It was the first disarmament agreement of the nuclear era, and was one of Kennedy's most notable achievements.

15) Maternal and Child Health and Mental Retardation Planning Amendments Act of 1963, October 24, 1963. Authorized grants to cover prenatal care for low-income pregnant women.
These pens were specially designed to Kennedy's writing specifications. Kennedy can be credited with popularizing the tradition of giving out signing pens as keepsakes.
Provenance:
Guernsey's, Artifacts and Documents Relating to the Life and Career of John F. Kennedy, March 18-19, 1998, Lot #168.

Conditions of Sale

1. CORRECTNESS OF DESCRIPTION: Robert C. Eldred Co., Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Eldred's) has exercised reasonable care to catalog and describe correctly the property to be sold, but neither Eldred's nor its consignors warrant the correctness of description, attribution, authenticity, or condition of said property. No statements shall be deemed such a warranty or representation or an assumption of liability with respect thereto, but are to be construed as opinions only. Bidders are encouraged to personally examine all property to be sold prior to the beginning of the auction.

2. Unless otherwise announced by the auctioneer at the time of sale, all bids are per lot as numbered.

3. Eldred's reserves the right to withdraw any property before the sale.

4. DETERMINATION OF HIGHEST BIDDER: The highest bidder accepted by the auctioneer shall be the buyer. In the event of any dispute between bidders, the auctioneer may determine who is the successful bidder or the auctioneer may re-offer the article in dispute and his decision shall be final.

5. REJECTION OF BIDS: The auctioneer reserves the right to reject any nominal raise or any bid or raise which, in his opinion, is not commensurate with the value of the article being offered. At his discretion, he may also reject any nominal raise or any bid that he may determine as having a detrimental effect on the item in question or the sale as a whole. Eldred's may refuse to issue bidding privileges to any person not in good credit standing with Eldred's, who has no credit standing, or to any person who is deemed by Eldred's in its sole discretion, to be disruptive of or harmful to established auction practices, either before or after the acceptance of bids or the fall of the hammer.

6. TITLE: Except as herein otherwise provided, title will pass to the highest bidder as determined by the auctioneer, and the property is thereafter at the purchaser's sole risk and responsibility.

7. PAYMENT: On title passing to the highest bidder acknowledged by the auctioneer, and subject to all the conditions set forth herein, such bidder will thereupon pay the full purchase price. Payment in full is due within 7 days of the time of sale. Any bills not paid in full within 25 days of the date of the sale will accrue interest at a rate of 1.5% per month. In addition, the purchaser may be subject to one or more of the following actions: a) Any and all legal remedies available to Eldred's and its consignors by law including without limitation the right to hold the purchaser liable for the total purchase price; b) Immediate cancellation of the sale, with Eldred's retaining as liquidated damages all payments made by the purchaser; c) Resale of the property at public auction, wherein the original purchaser shall be liable for any deficiency, costs, and Eldred's commission on both sales. At Eldred's option, payment will not be deemed to have been made in full until Eldred's has collected funds represented by checks, or in the case of bank or cashier's checks, their authenticity has been confirmed. A buyer's premium will be added to the hammer price to be paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price.

8. ORDER BIDS: Subject to these Conditions of Sale and to such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, but at no charge to the customer, Eldred's will undertake to execute all order bids submitted to it by a customer who has established credit with said company. Requests for such bidding must be given in writing with such clearness as to leave no room for misunderstanding as to the amount to be bid and must state the catalog number and the name or title of the article to be bid on. Telephone bids must be confirmed in writing or by cable. All bids are kept in strict confidence. In the event of identical bids, the earliest will take precedence (This applies to bids left directly with Eldred's NOT for online left bids). IMPORTANT ONLINE BIDDING NOTE: Because the live auction console does not differentiate between left bids and live bids, the first bid accepted by the auctioneer is the winning bid, regardless of the time the bid was originally left. Eldred's shall not be held responsible for errors or failure to execute bids. A deposit of 10% of the total amount bid is required. TELEPHONE BIDS: While the sale is in progress, bidding by telephone may be allowed by the auctioneer at his discretion. A deposit of 10% of the anticipated top bid is required. Eldred's shall not be held responsible for any failure to properly execute such a bid whether it be due to equipment failure, loss of connection, or failure to hear or understand the bidder's directions. Any advice or opinions provided by Eldred's or its employees are given strictly as a courtesy and are not a warrant of condition, attribution, authenticity, or description of said property. All bidding by telephone is solely at the risk of the bidder.

9. CONDITION: If for any cause whatsoever any article sold cannot be delivered, or cannot be delivered in as good condition as the same may have been at the time of sale, due to a failure or damage on the company's part, the sale will be cancelled, and any amount that may have been paid on account of the sale will be returned to the purchaser. EXCEPTION: Eldred's will not be held responsible for damage to picture frames or lampshades. Eldreds will not be responsible for damage by the shpping agent or his shippers after it has been delivered to such agent by Eldreds.

10. SALES TAX: All purchases are subject to the Massachusetts sales tax (currently 6.25%) unless the purchaser A) possesses a Massachusetts sales tax exemption or resale number and registers that number with the company, B) is an out-of-state vendor who meets all the requirements of Massachusetts Department of Revenue GLC 64H 1(5) and Directive 89-10 and registers with the company prior to each purchase, or C) has purchases shipped out of state directly from Eldred's by a bona fide shipping agent. Dealers, museums, etc. can apply for a Massachusetts number prior to the auction by contacting the Massachusetts Department of Corporations and Taxation, 100 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA 02204.

11. RESERVES: Unless advertised as an "Unreserved Auction", all sales may have items subject to reserve (an agreed upon price between the auctioneer and the consignor, below which the article will not be sold).

12. COLLECTION OF PURCHASES: Delivery or shipping arrangements must be made within seven (7) days from the close of the auction for all purchases. All items must be removed from Eldred's facilities within fourteen (14) days of the end of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/per day storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining over thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer's account minus auction and storage fees.

13. PACKING and Shipping. In all cases the packing and shipping will be handled by an outside agent and arranged for by the purchaser. Eldreds uses the local UPS store or Pak Mail store. Eldred's will provide alternative shipping suggestions for items to large to be handled by these firms. Any other arrangements are the responsibility of the purchaser. Eldred(TM)s must be informed as to such arrangements. After payment purchases will not be kept in Eldred(TM)s possession pending delivery, for more than a week. The UPS store, Pak Mail Store or shipper of purchasers discretion will be responsible for removing them and storing them at the purchasers expense until shipment. Eldred's will not be responsible for damage or loss once the item has been received by the shipper. In the case of fragile articles, shipping will be undertaken at the sole discretion of the shipper.

14. These Conditions of Sale cannot be altered except in writing by Eldreds or by public announcement by the auctioneer at the time of the sale.

15. Bidding on any article(s) indicates acceptance of the terms set forth above.

16. These Conditions of Sale

Absentee Bids

Because of the manner in which our online system processes and transmits left bids, Eldred's does not receive bid information until the exact moment of sale. Because the bidding console does not differentiate between left bids and live bids, the first bid accepted by the auctioneer is the winning bid, regardless of the time the bid was originally left.

Payment

Payment is due within 7 days of the close of the auction. Payment must be in the form of bank or pre-approved personal check or money order. All checks must be drawn from a US bank in US funds. All bank checks must include complete personal information (name, address, phone number) as well as the phone number of the bank the check is drawn on. Eldred's reserves the right to hold merchandise until payment clears. Under no circumstances will Eldred's accept Paypal. Master Card and Visa are accepted provided that the total invoice amount is $5,000 USD or less and the credit card billing address is tied to a valid US zip code. International credit cards are NOT accepted under any circumstances.

Shipping

We require prompt payment and removal of your purchases as stated in Paragraph 12 of the Conditions of Sale. If you plan to pick up your purchases, please call ahead and we'll make every effort to have your items ready. Our physical address is 1483 Route 6A, East Dennis, MA. Pick up of smaller items at our Mystic, CT location is also available with advance notice.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide shipping quotes until the invoice had been paid in full.
In house shipping is offered exclusively though UPS. All items are shipped with UPS insurance (max. $50,000). UPS insurance is billed at $2.70 for the first $100 and at $0.90 per hundred afterwards. Eldred's charges a minium $15 handling fee per package plus actual UPS shipping charges.
COLLECTION OF PURCHASES: Delivery or shipping arrangements must be made within seven (7) days from the close of the auction for all purchases. All items must be removed from Eldred's facilities within fourteen (14) days of the end of the auction. All items remaining after fourteen days may be subject to a $5/per item/per day storage fee. No items will be released unless storage fees are paid in full. Items remaining over thirty (30) days from the close of the auction may be sold for the buyer's account minus auction and storage fees.

Buyer's Premium

A 25% Buyer's Premium will be charged on successful bids. This is inclusive of the the 5% on-line auction fee. All purchases are subject to the Massachusetts sales tax (currently 6.25%) unless the purchaser possesses a Massachusetts sales tax exemption or resale number and registers that number with the company or has purchases shipped out of state (with the exception of Connecticut) directly from Eldred's by a bona fide shipping agent. Connecticut residents picking items up in our Mystic branch or having purchases shipped to their Connecticut address are responsible for CT state sales sax.

Condition Reports

Prospective buyers should satisfy themselves by personal inspection as to the condition of each lot. Although condition reports may be given on request, such reports are statements of opinion only. Regardless of whether or not a condition report is given, all property is sold subject to Paragraph 1. of the Conditions of Sale which provides that all property is sold "as is". The absence of a condition report does not imply that the property is in good condition. All dimensions are approximate. Eldreds will make every reasonable effort to respond to all emails or phone calls relative to condition up until 24 hours before the sale. If there is no condition report on the web it does not necessarily mean that the item is without repair, refinish, restoration etc. It is the responsibility of the prospective purchaser to contact Eldreds if they are concerned about the condition of an item beyond what is listed online.

Contract

Your bid is a legally binding contract. Upon the fall of the auctioneer's hammer, title will pass to the highest bidder, and the property is thereafter at the purchaser's sole risk and responsibility. Users must register and be approved to bid before the auction. Eldred's reserves the right to deny approval for any reason. Accounts with private feedback will be approved under any circumstances.