It can be said that one of the former presidents of the United States, President John F. Kennedy, was partly responsible for drawing attention to the ancient carved whale tooth collection, history, and beauty during his tenure and even after. of his death. A book titled John F. Kennedy: Scrimshaw Collector by Clare Barnes was even written detailing JFK’s collection. Kennedy’s collection of ancient carved whale teeth could be said to have begun when he was a young man, when he spent time on Cape Cod and Boston near the water. It is known that he grew up sailing and had always had a fascination for the sea. He also served in the United States Navy, where he was honored with a Purple Heart Medal. His royal collection did not begin until his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, presented him with an antique carved whale tooth upon entering the presidential office.

Whaling historian Clifford Ashley said the gift of a whale tooth was a “wish to present a distant friend with a whaling trophy, an enormous tooth that in actual conflict had threatened [the giver] and now it was a symbol of his success.” For Kennedy, perhaps the whale’s tooth represented the life he admired and something to live, the dangerous and romantic life at sea experienced by him and the 19th-century whalers.

Some photos of Kennedy show him sitting in the Oval Office with several ancient carved whale teeth on his desk. Even his desk, given to him by England and called the Resolute Desk, was made from the remains of the Resolute warship that was rescued from the Arctic by a whaling ship in 1885. People are said to have sent him carved antique whale teeth as gifts. . but only with approval, since he was very particular about what he collected. Kennedy was very interested in collecting antique whale teeth carved with historical figures, including former presidents. He also collected many ancient scrimshaw whale teeth with sailing ships and whalers.

It is interesting to note that Kennedy sometimes gave away carved antique whale teeth. One particular tooth was given to Swedish actress Greta Garbo after her visit and dinner at the White House on November 13, 1963. Nine days later, Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. This whale tooth was perhaps the last gift he gave. before his death. It was not known that the whale tooth was given to Garbo and employees of the Kennedy Museum and Library had always wondered where the “missing JFK tooth” was. In 2000, an employee of the Library’s collection investigated the transcripts and letters sent and received by the Kennedys where they found this message in a note written to Mrs. Kennedy de Garbo: “It was a most unusual evening for me that I spent with you in the White House. It was really fascinating and charming. I might believe it was a dream if I didn’t have the president’s ‘tooth’ in front of me.” The tooth was lent to the library by Garbo’s niece and heiress, during an exhibit detailing relics from Kennedy’s life.

In 1962, Jacqueline Kennedy commissioned a large whale’s tooth to be polished and carved by sculptor Milton Delano as a Christmas gift to the president. The tooth has the presidential seal etched into the whale tooth. JFK thought so much of the tooth that Jacqueline Kennedy buried him with the tooth in her coffin.