Just a brief note

If we can learn anything from the many national treasures housed in the Smithsonian Museum of American History, it is that context can make the difference between a valuable relic and junk.

Two of my favorite items on exhibit at the Smithsonian belonged to former presidents. One is a tall beaver hat that Abraham Lincoln wore on the night he was assassinated at Ford’s Theater. The other is a sleek navy and gold uniform worn by our nation’s first commander in chief, George Washington. General Washington, family legend has it, was wearing the uniform the day he resigned his commission at Annapolis, Maryland.

Looking upon those items is pretty remarkable, imagining President Lincoln removing his trademark hat for the final time as he stepped toward the theatre and into history. Or Washington, looking quietly sad and majestic in his uniform as bade farewell to his troops.

But some articles of clothing, no matter who has worn them, are simply not cut out to serve as testaments to the great moments of our nation’s history. Take for example a pair of boxer shorts that once belonged to President John F. Kennedy.

JFK’s boxers recently fetched $5,000 at an auction of Kennedy property, purchased by a clothing retailer in Dublin, Ireland. What I want to know from the buyer is what insights he hopes to gain into the splendor and mystery of Camelot by owning Jack Kennedy’s shorts? I mean, really. Where’s the historical context?

I could maybe see the point of being remotely interested in the boxers if it could be proven that Kennedy was wearing them when he ordered the military blockade of Cuba, or perhaps when he was standing near the Berlin Wall to make his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. But even then, I think the shorts would increase in value only marginally if history recorded that Kennedy uttered another phrase in German that day such as, “These shorts are really creeping up on me.”

Given JFK’s now well known compulsion for romantic interludes, who’s to say Kennedy even wore the shorts for that long once he had them on?

Nonetheless, we live in a world in which someone paid thousands of dollars for the privilege of calling the presidential underwear their own, and I’ve no doubt this raises some serious questions in the world of antique trading. For example, is there now a value scale for presidential underwear? How valuable is Millard Fillmore’s shorts in relation to, say, Gerald Ford’s? It’s pretty absurd when you think about it. Somehow I think JFK, who was known for his sardonic wit, would have found the sale of his boxers for thousands of dollars pretty ridiculous.

Written by Andy McDonald - BereaOnline.com Contributing Editor