Jacqueline Kennedy

Historic 14.5˝ x 12˝ swatch of black mourning fabric left over from the material used to decorate the White House following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. In fine condition.

Accompanied by a detailed 1983 letter of provenance on White House letterhead from Norma Arata, addressed to noted collector Raleigh DeGeer Amyx, in part: "It is with sadness that I present to you a piece of black cambric…which was left over from the material used in the East Room of the White House immediately following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.

Larry Arata was brought to the White House two years earlier at the personal request of the First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, to participate in the total restoration and upholstering of each piece of White House furniture.

When the assassination occurred, Mrs. Kennedy made almost immediate contact with the White House, and in a kind, firm and controlled manner, she requested that the exterior and interior of the White House be decorated as closely as possible to the way it was when President Lincoln lay in state in the East Room in 1865. My husband, Larry and I arrived at the White House before 8:00 p.m., on November 22, 1963. We knew that we only had 100 yards of black cambric at the White House. This was not nearly enough. Larry determined immediately what kind of material should be used. It had to be dark and thin so that it could be easily draped. We found one upholsterer who had enough additional black cambric.

Larry and I then began our work. We draped the black cambric over the fireplaces, drapes, chandliers, mantel pieces, windows, the White House exterior and the area in which our beloved President would lay in state. We worked all night and up until 4:30 am, on Nov. 23. At that moment a dramatic event took place. Larry and I were still working in the East Room. The First Lady entered the room with Robert F. Kennedy, the Attorney General, at her side. There were no more than a dozen people in the East Room as the President's body arrived. When I saw the First Lady, she was still wearing her pink skirt with blood stains on it. Larry and I did not approach her. We felt it would have been inappropriate. We wanted to spare her the confrontation of two more grieving friends at this almost unbearable moment. Mrs. Kennedy left shortly after this with Robert Kennedy. He slept in the Lincoln Bedroom. She slept in the President's bed. At 10:00 am, the same morning, she returned to the East Room as we had prepared it for her a ten o'clock Mass. The rest is history. It was all so sad."