JFK's Fisher stereo installation at The White House: Do we know the components?

monkboughtlunch

Super Member
Have any photos surfaced of the reported Fisher custom installation at the White House, and is it know what Fisher components, as well as turntable, tape deck and speakers were used? Have any photos or a bill of materials surfaced?

I found this picture from Hyannis Port dated May 10, 1963. Anyone know what kind of console that is?

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There was supposedly a console in the Oval office during the Kennedy presidency at sometime. A picture I saw had a TV (probably 19") on the Left side with components on the Rights and a single cabinet. It looked to me that it was a late 50's RCA Mono unit left over from IKE. Definitely NOT a Fisher console. And it was in the oval office for a short time.

There were lots of rumors that Jack had an Allegro or something Fisher Portable at sometime during his presidency. Fisher didn't have portables or small component stereo's until about 1967 except for the Allegro. However the Allegro didn't come out until Sept, 63 for the '64 model year, and we all know Jack was killed in Nov. so an Allegro doesn't make much sense from that standpoint, plus he didn't have much free time if any by that time to do any listening, even casual due to running for a 2nd term.

The console Jack is standing over is a 62 Ambassador IP. The 63 was identical, the 64 however had the square scrolling on the top front. It was actually the Ambassador's and his wife's (Joe Sr. & Rose), although the "kids" had access to it. However it looks like he's actually reading an open paper on it.

This article about the Stromberg-Carlson hidden unit in the living quarters makes the most sense in meeting the rumors. So they changed the location and the brand in the rumors. This is the closest thing we have to fact there is.
 
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There were lots of rumors that Jack had an Allegro or something Fisher Portable at sometime during his presidency. Fisher didn't have portables or small component stereo's until about 1967 except for the Allegro. However the Allegro didn't come out until Sept, 63 for the '64 model year, and we all know Jack was killed in Nov. so an Allegro doesn't make much sense from that standpoint, plus he didn't have much free time if any by that time to do any listening, even casual due to running for a 2nd term.

I found this info about the Fisher Allegro. http://www.audiohistory.com/files/documents/AudioSystemsOfTheRichAndFamous.html

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I know the text is small. It appears to be a page from a JFK auction.

Part of the text reads: "President John F. Kennedy's Stereo. Letter of authenticity from Mrs. Evelyn Lincoln on White House stationary. Original black and white photograph of the stereo in the White House Communications Room. John F. Kennedy took this stereo with him all over the world so that he could listen to his favorite music wherever he travelled. A Master Sergeant was assigned to transport the stereo in advance of President Kennedy's arrival and to set it up for him at his destination. The stereo was state-of-the-art at the time and an important personal item. $20,000-$30,000."
 
Found some pictures of a 1962 Ambassador Italian Provincial by Omegaman. This model looks very similar to the one Kennedy is pictured with in the 1963 Hyannis Port photo:


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Like i said before, IF (and I don't see a letter of authenticity, just a bunch of star speak on those pages) IF Jack Kennedy had an Allegro, he got it in the LATE SUMMER/Early fall of 63 when they came out for sale. And then he didn't get much use out of it since he was killed in Nov. Everyone is claiming that their Co. set up a stereo in the WH for Jack Kennedy. I just don't see the Hard evidence, just a lot of hearsay and hearsay is NOT admissible in Court. Did you notice the dates those threads were from?? 2004-2005? Until I see hard physical evidence, The only thing I see in the WH is that 58/59 RCA CTC-9 TV in the Modern/Contemporary cabinet. Even the Stromberg-Carlson article had no hard evidence, just some pictures of the bookcases in the living quarters of the WH with supposed hidden speakers in them. So the guy and his wife had their picture taken there. Lot's of people do.

The only hard evidence that there was any FISHER connection is the hyannis port photo. And that was taken in Joe Sr.'s house. All of the Furniture in the house would have been Joe Sr.'s and Rose's.
 
Like i said before, IF (and I don't see a letter of authenticity, just a bunch of star speak on those pages) IF Jack Kennedy had an Allegro, he got it in the LATE SUMMER/Early fall of 63 when they came out for sale. And then he didn't get much use out of it since he was killed in Nov. Everyone is claiming that their Co. set up a stereo in the WH for Jack Kennedy. I just don't see the Hard evidence, just a lot of hearsay and hearsay is NOT admissible in Court. Did you notice the dates those threads were from?? 2004-2005? Until I see hard physical evidence, The only thing I see in the WH is that 58/59 RCA CTC-9 TV in the Modern/Contemporary cabinet. Even the Stromberg-Carlson article had no hard evidence, just some pictures of the bookcases in the living quarters of the WH with supposed hidden speakers in them. So the guy and his wife had their picture taken there. Lot's of people do.

The only hard evidence that there was any FISHER connection is the hyannis port photo. And that was taken in Joe Sr.'s house. All of the Furniture in the house would have been Joe Sr.'s and Rose's.

Hoffman has hinted he got the info about JFK having an 800B at the White House from someone in the know. Perhaps he spoke to Avery many years ago? Maybe he will post more about his source. It would be cool to see if the 800B could be confirmed.

About the Allegro, even if Kennedy only used it for five months, it could have been used extensively if he took it on his travels. Just think about how much a President jets around every month. He must have had it set up in hotel rooms where he was staying.
 
I can't believe I sold that for so cheap

I did take the 7591's an 12ax7's though

That's a really nice console. Nice iron and 7591s. Check out the quality woods. The shot of the back doesn't reveal any particle board. It looks like solid wood shelving!
 
Everyone is claiming that their Co. set up a stereo in the WH for Jack Kennedy. I just don't see the Hard evidence, just a lot of hearsay and hearsay is NOT admissible in Court.
The only hard evidence that there was any FISHER connection is the hyannis port photo. And that was taken in Joe Sr.'s house. All of the Furniture in the house would have been Joe Sr.'s and Rose's.

Found this quote from Steve Hoffman who has stated Avery installed an 800B at The White House for JFK.

http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/isnt-this-a-gorgeous-fisher-800b.39361/#post-732634

"The late Avery Fisher told me what he installed in the White House for JFK; you won't find that information on any internet site!"
 
Glad someone scrubbed the political-talk -
this thread should be better than that.
 
This is interesting, What about Nixon in the Book Did They Mention the Music? By Henry Mancini, Gene Lees the authors state.

”Opposite the sleeping quarters was a little room where, he said, he did all his reading. It contained a highbacked easy chair, shelves of books and records, and a hi-fi system—not state—of-the-art gear but enough to hear the records I asked, “What's your favorite album, Mr. President?” He pulled one fromHe pulled one from the shelf and handed it to me. It was the Richard Rodgers music for the television series "Victory At Sea".He said, “I sit in here by the hour and listen to that album.”
Anyone know what he was listening to besides the tapes he made on the Sony TC-800B nixonsonylarge.jpg
 
Way back in 2008, I got curious about the console in JFK's Oval Office which appears in several historical photos. Having heard rumors of a Kennedy Fisher, I thought perhaps this was it. It was not - merely a 1959-60 RCA CTC-9 color TV. Here is that thread.

In the course of that investigation I contacted the White House Curator as well as the Kennedy Library. I received prompt responses from both and had a very interesting phone conversation with the Assistant Curator at the White House. However, neither source was able to help me with my quest. My White House contact did find a letter suggesting that the National Park Service kept an inventory of the Kennedy furnishings. By that time, however, the brain trust that is AudioKarma had identified the console as an RCA and I lost interest. I never pursued the NPS lead.

Years later I had occasion to visit Avery Fisher's son, Chip, and dig through boxes of his father's records prior to their donation to the library at Julliard. One folder was labelled: JFK (White House Installation). Unfortunately it was empty. I asked Chip about it and he explained that he had framed all the Kennedy material but did not recall where it had been put. Hopefully it still in the Fishers' possession and will come to light one of these days.

Once I got the chance to sort through all of the many hundreds of pages of Fisher documents I was kindly allowed to copy, I did come across one reference to the Kennedy Fishers. It was in the text of a speech given by Mr. Fisher at a Fisher Europa press conference on April 2, 1987. The speech is an interwoven personal and corporate history and contains the following statement:

"When President Kennedy wanted hi-fi equipment for his private rooms at the White House, Fisher equipment was chosen and installed. In addition to that, we designed two completely self-contained hi-fi systems fitted into aluminum cases that traveled with the President on Air Force 1, wherever he went in the world. They were multi-voltage and were routinely set up in his living quarters, on arrival."

I share Larry's skepticism regarding the reputed 'Evelyn Lincoln' Allegro. The photo from Hyannis Port is very interesting, though. Further research is definitely warranted.
 
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