Kennedy Napkin Rings

John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS Museum Collection (JOFI 130 & JOFI 155)

On October 7, 1914 after a seven-year courtship Rose E. Fitzgerald and Joseph P. Kennedy were married in Boston in a small ceremony at the residence of Cardinal O'Connell. After the wedding they went on a two week honeymoon during which they stayed at the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia, which would later gain renown as a favorite vacation place of U.S. Presidents until the mid twentieth century. They returned to Massachusetts and took up residence in their Brookline home on Beals Street, which had been purchased by the Kennedys prior to their wedding.

Many of the items used to furnish the Kennedy house were wedding gifts, among them the two silver napkin rings pictured above. The napkin rings, now displayed on the dining room table, are located in the appropriate place settings where Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy sat for dinner. The napkin rings are of silver and have tooled decoration consisting of hatching, floral elements, and the names "Joe" and "Rose" engraved in a large medallion.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS

Highlights from the Collection