The Robert A. Cumins Collection of Photography |

As the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy presidential administration nears, the nostalgia of that era is returning to the baby boomers generation who experienced the phenomenon of 'Camelot' as children. Robert A. Cumins was twelve when Kennedy was elected in 1960. Two and a half years later, at fourteen, he was sitting in the White House office of Kennedy press secretary Pierre Salinger, interviewing him for his school newspaper. He was also invited by Salinger to attend the President's weekly press conference, held at the State Department. Local newspapers and a wire service picked up the story of the "youngest kid" to interview Salinger.
Cumins, who grew up without a father, idolized JFK and his family, like so many others. He began collecting "everything Kennedy" --- books, magazines, medallions, photographs. In November 1963, nine months after the interview, the President was assassinated. A now defunct local newspaper had learned of Cumins' hobby and after the assassination, passed along more than 340 original United Press International Wirephotos that were transmitted on tissue thin paper through the UPI Unifax machine during the four days between the assassination and funeral. This valuable collection was brought to auction at Swann Auction Galleries in New York on October 19, 2010.
Cumins created 12 albums, individually titled by timeline. These extremely rare vintage photographs were stored for nearly 50 years, viewed only a handful of times. The images are sepia toned and have survived the test of time.