John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy cut the cake at their 1953 wedding. Photo: courtesy RR Auction, Boston.
Never-before-seen photographs from the wedding of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy have sold for $34,073 at RR Auction, Boston, reports ArtDaily.
The photos, thought to be unpublished, were discovered in the dark room of photographer Arthur Borges after his death in 1993. His family members now believe the images were taken by Borges’s colleague Frank Atamon, who owned a bridal and photography shop in Massachusetts.
The collection features 13 negatives, each enclosed in its original sleeve, marked “Pres. Kennedy 1953,” as well as the first print made from each of them. Atamon was likely a back-up photographer at the event, which was famously covered by LIFE magazine as “the most impressive the old society stronghold had seen in 30 years.”
John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy leave the church at their 1953 wedding. Photo: courtesy RR Auction, Boston.
The presidential couple wed on September 12, 1953, in front of 750 guests at a Catholic church in Newport, Rhode Island. Afterward, a reception of 1,200 was held at nearby Hammersmith Farm, the bride’s childhood home. Her ivory silk gown was designed by African-American designer Ann Lowe, and the first dance was set to a live rendition of “I Married an Angel” performed by the Meyer Davis Orchestra.
The newly publicized negatives show the newlyweds with their wedding party, leaving St. Mary’s, and cutting a five-tiered wedding cake during the reception.
“It’s just unbelievable that this is left behind,” RR Auction executive vice president Bobby Livingston told NBC News. “This is the beginning of Camelot. This is America’s version of a royal wedding. It’s spectacular.”
John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy with their wedding party at their 1953 wedding. Photo: courtesy RR Auction, Boston.
The buyer, who wished to remain anonymous, is a Las Vegas doctor. The auction also included a rare copy of the couple’s 1963 Christmas card, signed only days before Kennedy’s assassination, which fetched $19,500.