Subscribe Now

JFK’s Air Force One leather bomber jacket

The David Powers estate auction pays personal tribute to one of America’s greatest men.

In 1945, David Powers answered a knock on the door of his Charlestown home and found himself face-to-face with a young John F. Kennedy who was campaigning as a candidate for Congress. Thus began a very special friendship between two exceptional men.

The late David Powers, who became a lifelong friend to JFK and special assistant to the President, possessed many personal items belonging to the man whose life continues to inspire the nation. Those items were recently discovered by Powers’ family, and will be sold at a special auction hosted by The Gallery of John McInnis Auctioneers in Amesbury. Documents, photographs, letters, and gifts will be on exhibit beginning February 9th and running through February 16th from 1–7 p.m., followed by the auction sale on February 17th at 11 a.m.

As a firsthand witness to Kennedy’s assassination, Powers was deeply affected and maintained close ties to the Kennedy family in the years that followed. This unbreakable bond eventually manifested in the form of a catalogued assembly of Kennedy memorabilia. As museum curator at the John F. Kennedy Library (1965-1994), Powers preserved the President’s personal belongings as a means of honoring the man.

Sale items will include JFK’s Air Force One leather bomber jacket; a birthday card from two-year-old John to his father; the typewritten itinerary from JFK’s trip to Dallas, TX on November 21 and 22, 1963; and correspondence between Joe Kennedy and Gloria Swanson. The auction will be organized in chronological order from the 1930s, through the early campaign years, to the presidency.

Not only will the sale serve as a tribute to an important era and the Kennedy family’s eminence, it will also demonstrate the depth of friendship between two unforgettable men.

For more information go to mcinnisauction.com