148. JOHN F. KENNEDY’S HARVARD PENNANT, a crimson and white felt Harvard pennant with John Fitzgerald Kennedy handwritten by John F. Kennedy across the top in blue ink. The pennant is slightly soiled with thumbtack marks.
Pennant 21 ½ in. x 23 in. x 32 in. Letters 8 in. x 10 ½ in.
Shadowbox 25 ½ in. x 51 ½ in.

Provenance: Sold Guernsey’s Auction March 18 & 19, 1998 to the Present Owner

As stated in Guernsey’s John F. Kennedy 1998 Auction Catalog:

“This banner was given to Massachusetts Congressman Torbert Macdonald, John F. Kennedy’s college roommate, who recalled that this pennant hung in their dorm room from the Fall of 1937 until their graduation in 1940. John Kennedy graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and the high honor of Cum Laude.

The Kennedy family had a long history at Harvard University. Although John began college at Princeton, he dropped out due to illness and, upon recovery, enrolled in Harvard in keeping with the Kennedy tradition. Like all Kennedy members of that generation, he resided in Winthrop, the dormitory primarily occupied by athletes.

During his years in the Oval Office, President Kennedy often turned to his Harvard classmates and professors to serve in advisory roles in his administration. Subsequently, he gave many of these close Harvard chums appointments and high level positions.”