ALS signed “Jackie,” ten pages, 5 x 7, personal letterhead, August 3, 1964. Letter to Evelyn Lincoln, written after seeing her uncle Lefty Lewis, who requested that all of Kennedy’s papers that Lincoln saved be dated, annotated, and locked up. In part: “I saw my Uncle—Lefty Lewis today in Newport—You remember—he came with me and Wayne Grover to your office this winter. He is probably the greatest historian & librarian in this country today—& he got into such a passion—all over again—about all the writings of the President you had saved—and how they would be more important to history than anything—He said he had told you all that and of course you know it now—But he wouldn’t let me out of his sight until l had promised to write you—to make sure that you date every one—which you can do from the Presidents appointment books.
l said I was sure you had done that—but I don’t mind writing you about it in the middle of the night—as I am now doing—as it is all for President Kennedy and the rest of our lives you and I will do all we can for him—The other thing he said you must do is to annotate them—I said ‘what does that mean’?—and he told me of a slip of paper you had shown him & Wayne Grover—On the front—in your hand writing it said ‘Arthur Goldburg wants to see you at 10:30—is that all right’ and the President had taken that card and written lots of names on the back. Apparently when Wayne Grover saw it he knew just what the meeting had been about—perhaps he had been a part of it—anyway—that paper which could be meaningless to some archivist who came across it in the files—revealed a whole untold story to Wayne Grover & explained the point at some meeting—So Uncle Lefty said—with every little scrap like that—you should try & remember EVERYTHING connected with it—what the President was doing that day—who he saw before during & after he wrote it—who was at the State Dinner—what the President was doing that day—whom he saw before dinner & after he wrote it—who was at the State Dinners where he scribbled speeches on menus etc.
I am sure you have all that—but if you haven’t—just forget about everything else—because Uncle Lefty says never before in history has there been such a gold mine of what will reveal the true man—as there is in all the things you have saved—Scholars and archivists can go over all the type written things—but all that will reveal Jack is in the things you saved—He said this whole country is indebted to you for that—and as an historian—who searches for years and finds one little tiny piece of handwritten in all a great man’s papers—you have just saved such a treasure trove—& only you can decipher it…Apparently there has never been anything like it in history—so for heaven’s sake—lock up the original in a fire proof place—and really work on the others, the Xerox copies—nothing has more importance. He cares—as an historian—and as someone who worshipped the President—I told him you were doing all this—but he so wanted to be reassured—because someone like him—who has had to track down people in history though little minor tidbits—a bill here—a cancelled check there—a faded letter 2 centuries old—he knows what you have—and he just can’t sleep until he knows that all that is annotated as it should be…He loved the President—and he wants to make sure—as you & I do—that future people will know all his different sides—and how much he himself did—so that we just won’t get the Sorensen State paper view of his administration—so it would be lovely if you could reassure him.” In fine condition. Provenance: The Robert L. White Collection; Guernsey’s, 2005.
The relationship between JFK and Evelyn Lincoln, the devoted personal secretary who served him from the day he entered the Senate to the day he was assassinated, was one of the most important in the president’s life—and, as emphasized by Jackie, one of the most important in the world’s understanding of him. Building his schedule and handling his personal tasks, Lincoln was by Kennedy’s side every day that he was in office, and joined his delegation on dozens of historic trips, from Ireland to Germany, Tampa to Dallas. After his assassination, Lincoln was given the president’s personal effects, ordered to clean out the Oval Office of his possessions, and charged with preparing the items for their ultimate destination: the presidential library in Boston. Along the way, she was also allowed to keep hundreds of items for herself, including doodles from important meetings, drawings by his children, pens used to sign significant documents, and his diaries and journals—all of which became invaluable resources in Kennedy research. With Jackie imploring Lincoln to do her due diligence in preserving the vast amount of information in her care for generations to come—“you have just saved such a treasure trove—& only you can decipher it”—this is an extraordinary letter, uniting two of the most important women in the fallen president’s life. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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