£50k for JFK rocking chair

AN oak rocking chair that US President John F Kennedy used to rest his bad back sold for £50,000 to an anonymous telephone bidder at the opening of a three-day New York auction of property from the Kennedy family’s homes.

The Sotheby’s auction, which took in £900,000 last night, was expected to be more modest in scope than a 1996 Kennedy sale that brought in £18 million.

The 700 plus lots include ordinary objects such as magazines, records and glass jars. They are being sold by Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the assassinated president.