Raynor HCA 2013-07
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 7/18/2013
As Senate Democratic Whip, Minnesota Senator Hubert H. Humphrey was given a pen by the President for his help in getting the bill passed. Present, but not framed, is the original Esterbrook Desk Pen box, 7” x 1” x ½”, which housed the pen. The name “Humphry” (misspelled) was most likely penned on the box by a White House employee to make sure each person who was supposed to get a pen got one. Also penned on the box: “HR7500 87293 P.L.” indicating the identification numbers assigned to the bill and law. The entry for Friday, September 22, 1961, in “The White House Diary” at the Kennedy Library: “9:45 – 9:55 a.m. President Kennedy signs HR7500 to make the Peace Corps permanent.” United Press International reported that “the President said the Peace Corps bill opened the way for thousands of young Americans to work for peace and world understanding. He noted that the corps hoped to have 2,700 volunteers in training or abroad by next July. Mindful that the legislation had encountered little trouble in Congress, the President aimed a quip at his brother-in-law, R. Sargent Shriver, Jr., the Peace Corps Director. He expressed his esteem for ‘the most effective lobbyist on the Washington scene, Mr. Sargent Shriver.’ Mr. Shriver has been operating the corps under a Presidential order. The new law gives the agency permanent status and authorizes $40,000,000 for its operations in the current fiscal year.” After a Senate-House conference reconciled minor differences between bills the two houses had passed earlier, on September 21, 1961, by a vote of 253-78, the House of Representatives passed the compromise bill and the Senate gave its approval by voice vote. The next morning, President Kennedy signed HR 7500. The Peace Corps Act of 1961 became Public Law 87-293. (1) The fountain pen presented by President John F. Kennedy to Senator Hubert H. Humphrey in the Oval Office on Friday morning, September 22, 1961, after he signed the Peace Corps Act into law. Imprinted in white on the transparent barrel of the pen: “THE PRESIDENT – THE WHITE HOUSE.” This pen was part of a collection formed by William H. Perkins, Jr. William H. Perkins, Jr. (1922-2009) served on Presidential Inaugural Committees in 1961, 1965, 1969, and 1973. He was a lifelong lobbyist, first for Continental Casualty where he arranged the insurance coverage for President Kennedy’s inauguration. In 1964, he was appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as a Member of the National Armed Forces Museum Advisory Board of the Smithsonian Institution; he was reappointed by Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. Terry Sullivan wrote about Perkins collection in a 1997 issue of “Chicago” magazine, in part, “Scattered among the photos is a staggering array of political memorabilia – the White House borrows things every four years for an inaugural display…” It began in 1973, when, at the invitation of Mrs. Patricia Nixon, Perkins brought some of his collection to be put on display at the White House during inauguration week. (2) Typed Letter Signed “John Kennedy” as President, one page, 6.5” x 8.75”. The White House, Washington, April 23, 1962. To The Rt. Rev. Msgr. William J. Murphy, Saint Joseph’s Church, Ashtabula, Ohio. In full, “Dear Monsignor Murphy: It gives me great pleasure to send hearty greetings to you and through you to the members of Saint Joseph’s Church as you celebrate the centennial of its founding. I note that by a happy coincidence this, also, marks the 40th anniversary of your ordination. In sending best wishes to the congregation and to you, may I express the hope that all the fine things accomplished during the past may be but a forerunner of nobler achievements in the future.” Fine condition. The presidential pen and letter are matted together with a 6.5” x 6.5” black & white photograph of a pensive President Kennedy and framed to 25” x 19.5”. Not framed, but included with this presentation, are photocopies of articles about Perkins and the signing of the Peace Corps Act of 1961, as well as the annotated pen box aforementioned.
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