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Signed book from the personal collection of Chief Justice Earl Warren: Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States from George Washington 1789 to John F. Kennedy 1961. Limited edition, one of 85 specially bound copies printed for private distribution, 6 x 9.25, 270 pages. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1961. Personalized leather-bound hardcover, with edge gilding to text block, marbled endpapers, and gilt lettering and designs to the spine and front cover, the latter of which bears a small presidential seal and the initials, “E. W.,” indicating that it was a presentation copy made for Earl Warren. Signed and inscribed on the first free end page in blue ballpoint, “For the Chief Justice, Earl Warren, Dear Mr. Chief Justice, The President was going to give you this for Christmas. Please accept it now from me. With my deepest appreciation for all you did to help Jack and to make him admire you so much. Jacqueline Kennedy, December 1963.” Autographic condition: fine. Book condition: VG/None, with sunning to spine and some scuffing to leather.
Accompanied by a full letter of authenticity from PSA and a printed photo of the Kennedys posing with Warren and his wife, Nina Elisabeth Meyers, in November 1963.
A marvelous association piece between President John F. Kennedy and Chief Justice Earl Warren, whose paths intersected at several pivotal moments in American history. Warren administered the oath of office at Kennedy’s 1961 inauguration, and despite his Republican background, he had quietly supported Kennedy in the 1960 election after the GOP’s nomination of Richard Nixon. The two grew personally close during Kennedy’s presidency, a relationship that Warren later reflected upon: ‘No American during my long life ever set his sights higher for a better America or centered his attacks more accurately on the evils and shortcomings of our society than did [Kennedy].’
In the aftermath of the assassination, Warren was called upon to head the commission investigating Kennedy’s death, a role in which he was personally and deeply involved. He oversaw testimony from Marina Oswald, attended the private interview of Jacqueline Kennedy, participated in the Dallas deposition of Jack Ruby—where he also visited the Texas School Book Depository—and examined evidence concerning Kennedy’s medical treatment and autopsy. This rare, privately issued book stands as a significant association copy from the personal library of Chief Justice Earl Warren, presented to him by the newly widowed Jacqueline Kennedy at Christmas 1963, one month after the tragic passing of President Kennedy.
