Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...
New York, Jun 11, 2009
LOT 255
Frank Sinatra's "H.H." Cufflinks from Hubert Humphrey Accompanied by a letter of provenance from William Rizzo.
USD 2,000 - 3,000
EUR 1,500 - 2,300 / CHF 2,300 - 3,500
Sold: USD 4,800
In very fine condition (a minute amount of black ink on the back of one of the cufflinks,not visible from the front) THE 'RAT PACK' COLLECTION
Notes
To acknowledge Frank Sinatra's campaign efforts, Humphrey presented him with
this pair of elegant monogrammed "apple" cufflinks. After the 1968 election, Sinatra, a
lifelong Democrat, already soured by previous snubs by the Kennedy family, switched to
the Republican party, supporting Nixon and Ronald Reagan, and palling around on the
golf course with Spiro Agnew.
Provenance: From the Jilly Rizzo Estate Archive.
Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. (1911-1978)
U.S. Senator from Minnesota and 38th Vice President was the Democratic nominee for President in 1968 (following the withdrawal of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy). Though Sinatra was instrumental in helping JFK gain the White House in 1960, he could not quite repeat the feat eight years later for Humphrey, who lost by a narrow margin to Richard Nixon.
The name "Rat Pack" was first used to refer to a group of popular entertainers in Hollywood that originally were informally organized around Humphrey Bogart (including the young Frank Sinatra). In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a group featuring Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who appeared together on stage and in films in the early 1960s, including the movie ?Ocean's Eleven.? The Rat Pack often performed in Las Vegas, Nevada, and were instrumental in the rise of Las Vegas as a popular entertainment destination. They played an important role in the desegregation of Las Vegas hotels and casinos in the early 1960s. Sinatra and the others refused to play in or patronize establishments that did not give full service to African-American entertainers, including Sammy Davis, Jr. Once Rat Pack appearances became popular and the subject of media attention, the Las Vegas properties were forced to abandon their segregationist policies.
Provenance: From the Jilly Rizzo Estate Archive.
Hubert H. Humphrey, Jr. (1911-1978)
U.S. Senator from Minnesota and 38th Vice President was the Democratic nominee for President in 1968 (following the withdrawal of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy). Though Sinatra was instrumental in helping JFK gain the White House in 1960, he could not quite repeat the feat eight years later for Humphrey, who lost by a narrow margin to Richard Nixon.
The name "Rat Pack" was first used to refer to a group of popular entertainers in Hollywood that originally were informally organized around Humphrey Bogart (including the young Frank Sinatra). In the mid-1960s it was the name used by the press and the general public to refer to a group featuring Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who appeared together on stage and in films in the early 1960s, including the movie ?Ocean's Eleven.? The Rat Pack often performed in Las Vegas, Nevada, and were instrumental in the rise of Las Vegas as a popular entertainment destination. They played an important role in the desegregation of Las Vegas hotels and casinos in the early 1960s. Sinatra and the others refused to play in or patronize establishments that did not give full service to African-American entertainers, including Sammy Davis, Jr. Once Rat Pack appearances became popular and the subject of media attention, the Las Vegas properties were forced to abandon their segregationist policies.