Relaxing, reading and walking the dog… Poignant early photos of John F Kennedy and wife Jackie give a rare glimpse of their marriage before tragedy struck in the White House
The fascinating snaps of JFK and his wife Jackie were taken in Washington DC in 1954
THEY WERE the political power couple who went on to become some of the most famous residents to have lived in the White House before tragedy struck.
Intimate and rare pictures of the Kennedys taken during their early years of marriage have emerged, giving a glimpse into their daily life in the US capital.
The fascinating snaps of JFK and wife Jackie were taken by renowned photographer Orlando Suero, who spent five days with the couple at their Washington DC home in May 1954.
At the time, JFK was a young senator from Massachusetts establishing himself on the US political scene.
He married Jackie on September 12, 1953, just eight months before these photos were taken.
In one of the poignant images, the future president can be seen discussing a senate bill with Jackie in their living room, while another shows him throwing an American football with his brother Robert.
There is also a photo of JFK in a white T-shirt in the backyard reading while his wife tends the plants.
Meanwhile one rare picture shows the soon-to-be president wearing reading glasses, something he refused to allow to be photographed later in his political career.
MOST READ IN LIVING
Also included are photos of Jackie on her own talking on the phone, playing records and setting the table at home, as well as walking the dog and hanging a picture painted by her husband.
However, it is impossible to tell from these photos that JFK was in crippling pain because of a back complaint and had to undergo spinal surgery at the end of that year.
Photographer Orlando was commissioned to take the pictures as part of a 'day in the life' of the young senator.
He took photos of many celebrities including Bridget Bardot, Sharon Tate, Diana Ross, Julie Andrews, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Steve McQueen, Jack Nicholson and Lee Marvin.
The collection's owner, the late Max Lowenherz, donated the bulk of the photographs and negatives to the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Maryland in 1999 but kept some for himself.
But now, his son has decided to put 31 of them up for auction and they are tipped to sell for almost £5,000 in a sale today.
Tom Lamb, books and manuscripts specialist at Bonhams which is auctioning off the photos, said: "These rare images of a young Senator Kennedy and his beautiful wife Jackie capture the relaxed home life of the couple at their house in Georgetown, and around the city of Washington D.C, in the early 1950s.
"In their casual and informal style, they present a new and different image of young Jackie Kennedy, as always immaculately turned out, but heartwarming in their sincerity."
Kennedy served as the junior senator from Massachusetts from 1953 until 1960. He defeated Richard Nixon to become US president aged 43 in 1960 but was assassinated three years later.
Jackie, a fashion icon, remarried in 1968, tying the knot with Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis, and worked as a book editor before her death in 1994.