CHICAGO, May 4: A rocking chair that US President John F. Kennedy kept in his White House apartment could sell for more than 100,000 dollars, a Texas auction house said on Wednesday.

The chair was a gift from then-president Ayub Khan. After Kennedy’s assassination, his wife Jacqueline Kennedy gave the rocker to the president’s long-time valet, George Thomas, who kept it until his death in 1980. “There are certain personal characteristics that we associate with our presidents. When it’s Abraham Lincoln it’s the stovetop hat. For Dwight Eisenhower it’s golf clubs. For John F. Kennedy it was really the rocking chair,” said John Petty, a spokesman for Heritage Auctions.

John Kennedy often used rocking chairs to alleviate back pain. There are a number of iconic photos of him sat in a rocking chair, including one where he was holding his young daughter Caroline in his lap.

“You have to wonder how many momentous decisions were made in this chair,” Mr Petty said.

Several of Mr Kennedy’s rocking chairs have been sold at auction. At a 1996 New York auction of Jacqueline Kennedy’s possessions, two Kennedy rockers were sold for more than 400,000 dollars each.

A floor auction will be held on June 7 in Dallas, Texas. Bids will also be accepted by phone and online at www.heritageauctions.com —AFP