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Proudly Presents John-JohnTM An Original Bruno Rossellini Design On November 22, 1963, America was stunned by the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This event traumatized a country and a world. In the days following his death, the country was thrown into deep grief and depression as we mourned our dead President. It became a major part of our personal, as well as national, history to have been alive during JFK's time, to have been there to see his triumphs and successes, and to have borne witness and grieved with the rest of the world as he was so tragically cut down by an assassin's bullet. Amidst all of the tragedy and gloom, the funeral procession, and all the rapid events that disrupted our lives and overwhelmed a depressed nation, one image above all others is recalled. That is the image of John Jr. standing at attention, giving a final and proud "salute" to his dead father and our fallen President. This little boy had helped to put a whole nation back on its feet. Dressed appropriately for this solemn day by his mother in his dusty blue woolen coat and short jump suit, off-white shirt, and brown leather walking shoes, John-John indeed bid his final farewell to his father. This scene of the President's 3-year-old son saluting his father was photographed and circulated probably more than other single event coming out of this blackest page of American history and is most remembered for its ultimate effect of reviving our hope and faith in the future at a time when many were mired in depression. That is a vision and a memory which most of us will never forget. This poignant little boy, at that moment, became a permanent part of world history, and it was for this reason that we chose to immortalize that image in this masterful and true to life artist sculpting of John-John taken from that scene and from that "other" famous image of little John peaking out from beneath his father's Presidential desk in the Oval Office. Bruno Rossellini, in one of his most dramatic and serious efforts, has captured for all time the drama, the innocence, and the reality of this child and those moments in time that will forever stay with us. 33" John-John, a Masterpiece of a Doll Very Limited Editions Of all the dolls we have ever made, John-John was by far the most demanding and yet the most endearing. Since first offering him last year, we have received a tremendous number of orders. In fact, as of this writing, he has completely "SOLD OUT" of his entire production of 2,000 regular edition dolls (sold at US$495 each). The Artist Proof edition consisting of only 500 dolls, each hand signed by the artist and the two founders of the company, are also sold out. These were offered at US$795 each.   John-John's Popularity The reason for the popularity of our John-John doll is simple: In America today, John-John has taken on a totally new meaning. He is now a terribly important Great American doll, a heroic symbol, representing a nostalgic and everlasting memory of our Great American heritage, and although he was admired and adored for his endearing yet unassuming gestures of tribute and honor toward his fallen father, he will be even more remembered now and afterwards for his personal participation in and contribution to the American experience. A Task Befitting our Name As a company especially with our name being The Great American Doll Company, we feel a great obligation and responsibility to make John F. Kennedy, Jr. one of the most vibrant and stunning pieces of doll art ever created. Through this work of art, we show our intense admiration and tribute to a dynamic and mesmerizing son of a Great American President. The Making of John-John   John-John is made with exquisite little boy legs that are sculpted to go all the way to the bottom of his torso. In other words, they stop where normal legs stop, so he looks great with his coat on or with his short jump suit (blue wool challis material) and a long sleeved white cotton shirt made using real mother of pearl buttons. His coat is fully lined and comes with official custom made embossed metal buttons that say, "President of the United States", exclusively made for The Great American Doll Company. He has strong armatures permitting him to be easily posed for sitting as well as standing. His arms are completely poseable. His saluting arm can be positioned at his side or in the famous saluting position. (This hand was specially sculpted so that it could be posed in the exact way that John-John, at that poignant historical moment, positioned his salute; very tentative - it is amazingly exact.) He comes with a custom designed, all metal doll stand engineered to keep him posed in that historical position captured for all time by the cameras on the day of President Kennedy's funeral. (Enlarged to show detail) President Kennedy's Long Johns and Our Exclusive Patent The Pursuit of Authenticity In the pursuit of truth and authenticity in the reproduction of a famous personage as a doll, even a child rendition, we have always been extremely careful to be as true to life and history as possible. It is our obligation and even duty to work to convey the image and the essence of that person, that historical celebrity, in such a way that the beholder, or collector, is so taken by the image that she or he must exclaim, "Oh! My god, this is really John-John!" It is only then that we feel that we have done our job well, that we have done honor to the memory of the person or historical reference. This is especially true of someone who has passed on, to leave that essence of who they were with those of us who remember them and have lived on. In our efforts to achieve this goal, we have spared nothing in the quality and preparation of the doll. A review of our "ingredients" or materials/components list shows that practically every part was custom designed and custom made towards that end of achieving a genuine lifelike aura around our dolls. Jackie Kennedy To us, the ultimate connection between a doll and us, between their lives and ours, is something from them personally, something that can be personally associated with their lives that has survived them. We sought something that they owned or wore or used in their lives, or was somehow associated with them or their family to help keep their spirit alive with the doll. This concept of personal connectivity first came to us with our 1996 rendition of Jackie Kennedy as a child. We had gone to the Sotheby's auction that year and purchased a necklace owned by Jackie and featured a replica of the necklace on our dolls. Intimacy with Princess Diana Still, we needed something more personal, more intimate. When we began our Princess Diana doll, we devised the idea of attaching something actually from the Royal Family to Diana as a way of bridging this gap, a way to make a real connection between her admirers and her. Having been to the Sotheby's auction of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor held in New York in 1997, we had been a big buyer of the Windsor's personal linens. It was thus from a piece of one of their Royal pillowcases that we came up with the idea of the patent and began the patent process. Now our Diana had something genuinely Royal with her, and with our exclusive patent, our valued Diana collectors could now share a true connection to the Royal Princess. Presidential Underwear Having had the great successes with Jackie and then Princess Diana, we were fortunate to obtain a pair of President Kennedy's actual Long John underwear. These were originally sold through the 1998 Guernsey's Auction of John F. Kennedy Memorabilia and provided us with that extra magic that we needed to make our John-John doll most endearing to the many collectors and admirers of the Kennedy family. It was perfect. Armed with our patented idea, we have launched our John-John firmly into the history books as the very first American Celebrity doll to carry with it an actual piece of the American experience and heritage, a piece of personal clothing owned and worn by a President of The United States of America. Secret of JFK's Longjohns New Life In a New Doll This is not the usual type of clothing that is offered to doll collectors as part of the doll's clothes. Old underwear usually doesn't get a second chance. However in this new incarnation, we are happy to be creating a new life for old long johns, a life which will both enhance and endear something spectacular and historically significant for you and your loved ones. Thus we have it that JFK's own personal underwear, his well-worn and long forgotten long johns, can experience a renewal, a revitalization as an integral part of our newest doll creation, John-John, by Bruno Rossellini. For now for the very first time in history, we have incorporated a piece, a fragment, of JFK's actual long johns into each and every John-John doll created in this edition. Real Kennedy History Because we can offer to share an actual piece of American history, one that belonged to both Jackie and John Kennedy, the Kennedy collector can have something that is extremely rare, valuable, and that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Nowhere else would anyone be able to obtain their own private collection of genuine Kennedy memorabilia. It is a fascinating concept to realize that by acquiring one of our limited John-John dolls, a private person can join the ranks of those who have touched greatness, who have experienced history directly, and who had the wisdom to know this as a great opportunity when it was offered to them. This is a definite "first" in the History of dolls and doll making and an absolute necessity for any collector who strives for quality, value, meaning, and maximum enjoyment from their collection. Jackie's Secret There is a Secret Story of John F. Kennedy's winter long johns, exclusively from The Great American Doll Company. The story starts during the time when then Senator John F. Kennedy and Jackie Bouvier Kennedy were just married living in a small house in the Hickory Hill section near Washington, D.C. This was actually Jackie's secret, a secret more than fifty years old that has placed an aura of intrigue and mystery around this pair of underwear, and it was this mystery aspect to the long johns that caused them to briefly become the center of National attention as reported in numerous magazine articles including write-ups in The Washington Times and People Magazine (June 7, 1982). In their article, "People Magazine" noted that, "In 1953 young Jackie Kennedy found that she had far too many wedding presents. So she sorted through the gifts, selected the ones she least liked, and bundled those up in Jack's old winter underwear. . . Then, she toted them off to the Walter Reed Antique Shop owned by the late Jack Traten." Forgotten for Half a Century The pre-Presidential underwear had been lying dormant for nearly half a century. The store owner, for sentimental reasons, had kept them on a backroom shelf and only after his passing a few years ago were they rediscovered. Not since the time Jackie had lovingly used Jack's old underwear as protective wrapping had these long johns seen the light of day. But now, we have their "coming out party" when, in 1998, they were sold for thousands of dollars at the famous Guernsey's Auction in New York of John F. Kennedy's personal belongings. It was there that these were acquired and finally found their way to us and now to our collectors. Well Worn and Worn Out In describing the underwear, they are full length with full sleeves and legs. They are "double" insulated meaning that there are two layers of heavy woven material for full insulation against the cold. When we bought them, we could see how much they were used since there were many "worn" areas. They were so worn that they were frayed and torn at the bottom of the legs and in the hands practically shredded. The seat, which was a form of "rumble seat", was held up with two buttons and was wearing a little thin as was the front side. Based on their wear, we know that JFK really enjoyed wearing these both for the comfort and warmth provided during the severest and coldest of Eastern winters, and the fact they were nearly worn out in spots by the time they were used by Jackie for wrapping up old gifts really showed that these had to be one of his favorite articles of clothing. Of that we are sure. John-John Under the Desk During the Kennedy White House years, there were occasional pictures of either John-John or his sister Caroline playing inside a special cabinet at the front of JFK's desk in the oval office. It must have been fun to play there while their famous father decided tremendously important issues of state just inches over their heads, and it must have been comforting and joyful to JFK to have his dearest ones so close to him during those times. It was one such time that the cameraman caught John-John, in his secret "cave" under the desk, that gave us the perfect face to use for his sculpting. It is now almost universally agreed that this face, this expression, this near-perfect sculpture, are part of what makes this doll so remarkable and endearing to our collectors. John-John's Special Features * An original true-to-life artist sculpting of John F. Kennedy, Jr., modeled after famous White House Oval Office scene, by Bruno Rossellini. * Classic 33" weighted-toddler cloth body, in traditional 19th Century European styling and construction. Fully armatured for ease in posing. * The virtually indestructible formulation of famous GADCO HardCast Vinyl  for realistic flesh tone and Museum quality texture found in the most expensive Greek & Italian marbles (and producing a lifelike quality that will take your breath away). * Special sculpting of "saluting hand" to permit the capture of that exact historic scene. Right hand is said by Bruno Rossellini to be saluting "tentatively". So he sculpted this hand to look exactly so. * Realistically sculpted to scale chubby toddler legs, especially designed to go up to torso bottom, appearing as real as possible. Designed to sit (with legs straight out) or to stand. * Ratcheting armatures made from wearforeverTM space-age polymers allowing movement in all directions. * Soul searching realistic custom made European deep sparkling crystal glass eyes expertly hand set for realism. * Hand set select upper and lower eyelashes. * Realistic hand styled imported designer wig with custom styling and each wig individually custom fit and hand cut to each doll. * Fully lined 100% Wool Challis coat and pants outfit, using custom designed impeccable embossed buttons on coat sleeves, coat front, and Bermuda shorts with suspenders. Buttons bear Presidential Seal and are engraved/etched with the words, "President of the United States". * Expertly tailored long sleeved button down designer shirt. * Rich antique-style white cotton toddler boy stockings. * 100% Handmade genuine leather custom made period shoes. Complete with antique style brass eyelets. * Each Artist Proof doll fully hand signed by Bruno Rossellini and The Great American Doll Co. Founders. Total of 3 signatures at shoulder plate on each doll! First time ever! * Each John-John produced as if it were an original, one of a kind creation. * Worldwide Edition regular edition limited to only 2,000; Artist Proof edition was 500. * Sturdy custom made black metal doll stand. * Classic Great American Doll Designer box complete with exquisite wrapping paper and small boy's wooden hair brush. * Certificate of Ownership and a custom-designed Great American Hang Tag. * A genuine fragment of President Kennedy's personally owned and much worn Long John underwear from his pre White house days sewn into John-John's coat, covered by our own Exclusive Patent. * A Certificate of Authenticity attesting to the provenance and source of the Long John's as acquired through the Guernsey's 1998 Kennedy Auction; an "actual piece" of American history. In Summary: John-John is an important and rare historical doll, in an edition size, quality, value, and design destined for greatness, and destined to be appreciated as a true work of art for generations to come. A portion of the proceeds are being donated to organizations supporting immunization for children worldwide. From GADCO with Love!