John FITZGERALD KENNEDY - Original autographed photograph.

John FITZGERALD KENNEDY (1917.1963)

Original autographed photograph.

Sepia silver print depicting the young JFK in bust.

Portrait of Senior Year of the Ivy League University Preparatory School.

Extraordinary document dedicated in blue ink to his most intimate and faithful friend, Lem Billings, in 1935, the year before their respective integration at Harvard.

To Lemmer. The gayest soul I know – In memory of two tense years and in hopes of many more. Your best pal and supporter! Ken.

(“To Lemmer, the gayest soul I know – In memory of two very busy years and in the hope of many more – your friend and best support! Ken.”).

This document is the oldest known autographed photograph of the future American president, then aged 18.

John F. Kennedy and Kirk LeMoyne Billings met in Wallingford, Connecticut, at the prestigious Choate Preparatory School, in 1933. They struck up an immediate friendship and bond. During their senior year, they founded a secret society known as "The Muckers Club" and were nearly expelled several times.

In Choate, “Jack” (short for John) was regularly ill. Billings then gave him unwavering support. Marked by the ordeal of illness, JFK rarely complained, but found in Lem a friendly confidant, faithful support in the face of physical suffering. Lem thus boosted Jack's morale, supported him, during these formative years when the future President could easily have fallen into despair. Robert Kennedy, Jack's younger brother, confirmed on this subject that he did not remember a single day in the President's life without him being in very violent pain.

Lem (unapologetic homosexual) secretly loved JFK. It is known that he slipped naked into young Kennedy's bed at the start of their meeting (some exegetes of the Camelot gesture even going so far as to assert that young JFK would have had a homosexual experience on this unique occasion). It is in fact permissible to question the polysemy of the words “THE GAYEST SOUL” – if not devoid of any ambiguity, at least leaving some room for interpretation. The deep feeling of embarrassment that resulted, however, did not dampen their friendship and, during their graduation at Choate in 1935, they exchanged portraits... of old people!

Later, at every difficult turning point in Kennedy's presidency, Lem was there - he spoke to him daily during the Cuban Missile Crisis and even had his own room in the White House. Their inseparable friendship of 30 years remained until that fateful day of November 22, 1963.

This photograph (also signed by the photographer, in the lower margin), exceptional in every respect, is the oldest known signed photo of JFK. This gift from JFK to Lem (referenced in David Pitt's 2007 book, Jack and Lem.) was kept for several decades by the Billings descendants, and represents a fascinating testimony to the birth of the Kennedy myth.