WHAT IS EASILY ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY PIECES OF JFK-RELATED MEMORABILIA, AND HENCE 20th CENTURY POP CULTURE, EVER TO SURFACE, THE PRESIDENTIAL SEAL CAKE SIDE DECORATION FROM PRESIDENT JOHN F KENNEDY'S 29.MAY.1962 BIRTHDAY CAKE, WILL BE SOLD AT PUBLIC AUCTION IN DALLAS ON 17.NOVEMBER. THE PIECE IS AN UNLIKELY SURVIVOR FROM THE FAMOUS NIGHT MARILYN MONROE FAMOUSLY SANG 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR PRESIDENT' TO JFK AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN AS A GIANT CAKE WAS BROUGHT IN WITH GREAT FANFARE. THE SIDE DECORATION, WHICH CARRIES A PRE-AUCTION ESTIMATE OF $5,000, IS BEING OFFERED AS PART OF HERITAGE AUCTION GALLERIES NOVEMBER GRAND FORMAT AMERICAN & POLITICAL MEMORABILIA AUCTION, TAKING PLACE IN-PERSON AT THE COMPANY'S DALLAS HEADQUARTERS, AS WELL AS LIVE ON LINE AT HA.com/Historical. THE AUCTION FEATURES AN IMPORTANT SELECTION OF JOHN F KENNEDY ITEMS ASSEMBLED TO MARK THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF HIS 1960 ELECTION, INCLUDING TREASURES SUCH AS A GOLD PRESENTATION WATCH WORN BY JFK THROUGHOUT THE CAMPAIGN, AND WHAT MAY WELL BE THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF KENNEDY'S TRADEMARK ROCKING CHAIR TO COME WITH AN AUTHENTICATION FROM THE KENNEDY FAMILY. THE DECORATION IS BEING OFFERED BY THE FAMILY OF DECORATED NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT DETECTIVE PATRICK 'PATTY' LARKIN. LARKIN, WHO WAS WORKING SECURITY DETAIL THE NIGHT OF THE EVENT, TOOK A SHINE TO THE PIECE, AND WAS IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME TO GET IT OUT AND BACK TO HIS HOME, WHERE IT HAS BEEN FOR THE LAST 48 YEARS. LARKIN'S WIDOW, LOIS, WHO WAS DATING THE DETECTIVE AT THE TIME, WAS AT THE EVENT WITH HER SISTER AND A FRIEND. IN FACT, THE REASON LARKIN WANTED THE CAKE TOPPER WAS AS A SURPRISE FOR HIS THEN-GIRLFRIEND. THE PIECE COULD BE SAID TO BE MORE THAN HISTORY NOW, AS IT IS A POTENT RELIC OF ONE OF THE MOST GLAMOROUS AND ICONIC EVENTS IN MODERN AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORY. IT WAS NOT PRESERVED IN A SPIRIT OF REVERENCE, HOWEVER, BUT MERELY A CURIOSITY THE FAMILY SHUFFLED FROM RESIDENCE TO RESIDENCE OVER THE YEARS, OCCASIONALLY TAKING IT OUT ON THANKSGIVING OR ST PATRICK'S DAY TO GET A LAUGH OR AN OCCASIONAL SHAKE OF THE HEAD FROM FRIENDS. THE SURVIVAL OF THE DECORATION IS A FANTASTIC STORY IN AND OF ITSELF, CONSIDERING THAT THE FAMILY MOVED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE YEARS. ITS SOJOURN BEGAN IN MANHATTAN, AND THEN THROUGH SUBSEQUENT RESIDENCES AS THE FAMILY GREW, TO ITS LOCATION ON LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, BEFORE FINALLY MAKING ITS WAY TO HERITAGE AUCTIONS, WHERE IT WILL NOW FIND A HOME WITH THE HIGHEST BIDDER.
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