Jazzed for Jackie: First Ladies Library hosting wedding gown raffle, memorabilia auction

CANTON − The National First Ladies Library believes the public just can't get enough of First Lady Jackie Kennedy.

So in a follow-up to the unveiling of its new Jackie-themed "Beyond Camelot: The Life and Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis" exhibit earlier this summer, the library and museum have a celebration planned for Thursday through Saturday.

Events include a presentation by a first lady historian and author, the auctioning of Jackie mementoes and collectibles, and a raffle to win a shopping trip with Monte Durham, of TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta," to pick out a free wedding dress at a boutique.

Through the events, the First Ladies Library is commemorating what would have been the 70th wedding anniversary this month for Jackie and President John F. Kennedy.

"This is a tremendous opportunity for us to raise awareness of the First Ladies (library and museum) and raise funding that will help us continue our important work of educating the public about their legacies," National First Ladies President and CEO Patty Dowd Schmitz said in a news release.

Durham is returning to Canton for the wedding dress raffle and a cocktail event at Gervasi Vineyards. Durham was part of the special events in May when the "Beyond Camelot" exhibit opened. He had donated much of his personal Jackie Kennedy collection of artifacts and memorabilia to the First Ladies museum for the display.

"We're very excited about that," the acclaimed bridal consultant said of the dress-themed raffle. "And depending on when the wedding is, I'm coming out with my own (six-gown) bridal collection.

"And it should be ready for viewing in spring of 2024, so if the wedding's out far enough, they'll have the opportunity to be one of the first brides to wear Monty's gown," Durham said of the dresses he designed under the Elissar Bridal brand. "We're still working on them. We're fine-tuning them as we speak."

Durham will also make a special presentation about the gossip surrounding Kennedy's time as first lady.

"We're going to talk about the little innuendos and things we may have read or not have read," he said. "It's a little more on the racier side of Jackie. Just to kind of spill some unknown facts that aren't necessarily documented, but they're so well hearsay, (and) they're really part of the folklore."

The First Ladies Library is hosting a charitable online auction of nearly 100 pieces of Jackie Kennedy memorabilia and keepsakes donated by Durham from his personal collection. The auction is open for bidding through Saturday.

Items include the same style of Hermès silk scarf popularized by the first lady, featuring an astrology design.

"They are very rare to come by because they don't go back into production with some of these things," Durham said.

Other auction items include framed vintage photographs, posters, envelopes, stamps, postcards and trading cards, as well as commemorative ceramic Jackie Kennedy plates that had hung in Durham's house since the 1970s. Additional items include metal lapel pins; dolls still in the package; framed carved relief portraits of John and Jackie Kennedy on velvet; ceramic salt and pepper shakers featuring images of the first lady and president; and small metal busts of John and Jackie Kennedy.

Here's a look at the schedule of events:

Jackie Kennedy-themed special events hosted by First Ladies Library

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the First Ladies National Historic Site, 205 Market Ave. S − Carl Sferrazza Anthony, an acclaimed first lady historian and author of the book "Camera Girl," will make a presentation about Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy alongside Michelle Gullion, the curator and director of collections at the National First Ladies Library.

"Camera Girl" is a biography of Jackie's early years when she was a writer and newspaper columnist.

He also will be available for "Camera Girl" book signings, with books available for purchase in advance or on site. Tickets for the event are $30 general admission and $60 for admission with a copy of the book.

6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at Gervasi Vineyards, 1700 55th Street NE − Durham will headline the meet-and-greet bridal-themed cocktail event "Say Yes to the FREE Dress," featuring a modeling of gowns and what he calls a mini-fashion show, with gowns available for purchase. A designer from Elissar Bridal also will be in attendance.

Durham, alongside sponsors Elissar Bridal and Love Conquers All Bridal Boutique in Canfield, will offer a bride-to-be the opportunity to win a free couture bridal gown through the raffle.

Event admission is $45 without a raffle ticket and $55 for admission with a raffle ticket. Additional raffle tickets cost $25 each, and the winner doesn't need to be present at the cocktail event to win.

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the First Ladies National Historic Site, 205 Market Ave. S − Durham will appear at the National First Ladies Library for a meet-and-greet and talk about the “Gossip, Scandals and Delicious Details of Jackie O.” Winners of the online auction of Monte Durham items also will be announced that evening. Tickets cost $35.

Reservations for events can be made at https://firstladies.org/jackieseptember.

Jackie the writer and intellect

Jackie Kennedy was about far more than style, fashion and flash, Sferrazza Anthony said during a recent phone interview.

"I always point this out," he said. "People talk about Jackie Kennedy particularly in terms of her clothing and her style, but I have always been focused on her substance. That's what my interest in First Ladies is ... their political views and their influence and power."

"I don't know about clothes and dishes and things, but going through their diaries and their letters, this book I just wrote on Jackie is substantive because it's all based on primary sources," he said.

"Perhaps the most amazing document ever created by Jackie Kennedy, it's an astounding synthesis of articles and books, all that had been written in French that analyzed what was the situation in early 1953 between France and its efforts to retake Indochina as a colonial power."

The future first lady had spent a year studying abroad in France during college, the author noted.

"She wrote this document that has never been studied and never been seen, and I found it at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston," Sferrazza Anthony said. "It just gives you a glimpse of her thinking and into the wide breadth and range of her capabilities, and that document became the basis of JFK's speech in the Senate.

"... That speech attracted so much attention that people began to say, 'Keep an eye on (JFK), he might be president some day.'"

The Jackie Kennedy origin story

Sferrazza Anthony said he considers "Camera Girl" to be Jackie's origin story.

"What's interesting is she was very, very ambitious to be a national writer," he said. "She was always writing short stories and fantastical kinds of things (including children's stories). So had she not married, I do think she would have ended up as a prominent writer."

Through her writing, Jackie melded style and substance, Sferrazza Anthony said.

Her writing included several features stories for the Washington Times-Herald newspaper, as well as an ongoing column, "Inquiring Camera Girl."

The would-be first lady dealt with sexism and the challenges of working in a profession dominated by men at the time, Sferrazza Anthony said.

"I think what ('Camera Girl') shows is Jackie was a very ambitious young person," he said. "Her goal was at one time, as she put it, to be the overall art director of the 20th century."

"And I think in some way, she did that," Sferrazza Anthony said. "She was really behind the idea of JFK being president. You see that she really understood the power of First Lady, and I think she saw that she herself as first lady could get as close as possible to becoming that overall art director of the 20th century."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com. On X (formerly Twitter) @ebalintREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: First Ladies Library hosts bridal gown raffle, Jackie Kennedy auction