TLS signed “Jack,” one page, 6.25 x 8, United States Senate letterhead, June 7, 1957. Letter to Margaret Coit at Farleigh Dickinson University, in full: “It was very good of you to send congratulations upon the award of the Pulitzer Prize to ‘Profiles in Courage.’ Needless to say, I was most gratified by the announcement; and the pleasure of it all was heightened by the generous messages I received from you and other friends. Thanks for thinking of me—but don’t count on a repeat performance!” Kennedy adds a brief handwritten postscript, “When are we going to meet again?,” and crosses out the formal greeting to read “Margaret.” Double-matted and framed with a photo of Kennedy surrounded by an adoring crowd to an overall size of 20.5 x 15. In fine condition, with a few small light stains to left edge. Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA/DNA.
While interviewing various politicians for her book on Bernard Baruch, Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Margaret Coit set her sights on the young Senator John F. Kennedy: ‘Every girl in Massachusetts wanted to date him,’ she said, ‘and I wasn’t any exception.’ She concocted a reason to interview Kennedy and the two met for the first time in the spring of 1953, sparking a brief romance. On one of their first dates, he expressed awe at the fact that she had won a Pulitzer, remarking, ‘You know, I would rather win a Pulitzer Prize than be president of the United States.’ Although the two had lost touch by the time Kennedy achieved goal number one, Coit re-established contact with a congratulatory note upon hearing the news of his Pulitzer. The handwritten postscript—added with a hint of flirtation—resulted in a public reunion of the two award winners in the fall of 1958. This is a charming letter from the future president and notorious ladies’ man to a past fling, a celebrity in her own right.
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