A signed photograph and letter to the Director of Convocations at Yale University - photo 1
A signed photograph and letter to the Director of Convocations at Yale University - photo 2
A signed photograph and letter to the Director of Convocations at Yale University - photo 3

A signed photograph and letter to the Director of Convocations at Yale University

Lot 154
16.10.2025 00:00UTC +01:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
ID 1472076
Lot 154 | A signed photograph and letter to the Director of Convocations at Yale University
Estimate value
$ 4 000 – 6 000
KENNEDY, John F. (1917-1963). Photograph signed "John F Kennedy" as President and inscribed to Robert Toti, [1962]. [With:] Typed letter signed ("John Kennedy") as President to Mr. Robert Toti, Washington, 12 June 1962. [Also with:] a sepia photograph of Kennedy at the commencement address.

Inscribed photograph: 200 x 255mm (some very faint scratches at the margins, damage to paper surface at upper-left from prior framing, neither intrusive). Letter: one page, 171 x 205mm on White House stationery (mounted to a larger sheet, unevenly toned from prior matting, adhesive remnants at lower margin). Vintage photograph: 115 x 117mm (mounted to cardstock with inscription "CTA 62" at bottom corner).

One day after delivering the 1962 commencement address at Yale University, Kennedy expresses his personal thanks to the Director of Convocations for his assistance and forwards a signed portrait. Of Robert A. Toti (1923-1994), the recipient of the letter, Kennedy states: "As Director of Convocations at Yale, you perform a host of duties with skill and good humor". Toti would direct the Yale Class Reunion Bureau for over sixteen years.

Upon receiving an honorary degree from Yale, Kennedy, a Harvard alum, began his commencement by jesting, "I have the best of both worlds, a Harvard education and a Yale degree". Despite this initial joke, Kennedy's 1962 commencement address was wide-ranging in its scope and rhetoric, covering the potential dangers and benefits from "big government", the state of the nation's economy and fiscal policy, and the roles of universities in spreading truth rather than illusion. Provenance: Robert A. Toti – by descent to the consignor.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
02.10.2025 – 16.10.2025
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

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