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JOHN F. KENNEDY'S OAK ROCKING CHAIR UPHOLSTERED BY LARRY ARATA Oak frame with padded arms and caned back and seat topped with loose cushions. Stamped under left arm "Manufacturer of the original Carolina Rocker P & P Chair Company Asheboro, North Carolina". Upholstery with label "Larry Arata's Custom Upholstery of the Kennedy Rocker". Plaque on underside of arm rest marked "President John F. Kennedy The White House One of Three Original Rockers Used In Oval Office Designed by Dr. Janet Travell" and a paper label on underside of other arm marked "The President". Back height 43.25". Width 28". Depth 34". President Kennedy used rocking chairs, per the recommendation of Dr. Janet Travell, to alleviate chronic and severe pain in his back, which he injured during World War II while heroically rescuing the crew of PT-109 after it sank in the Solomon Islands. Sitting for long meetings aggravated his back, so he commissioned a number of rocking chairs to use in the White House and at his various personal residences. Jacqueline Kennedy, who was in the midst of a historic restoration of the White House, purportedly balked at including a simple rocker amongst the mansion's furnishings, supposedly saying, "A rocker is a rocker and there isn't much you can do to make it look like anything else". However, rockers have been beloved by Americans since Benjamin Franklin is said to have devised the form in the 18th Century. Provenance: Guernsey's, Artifacts and Documents Relating to the Life and Career of John F. Kennedy, March 18-19, 1998, Addenda Lot.