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John F. Kennedy: Early Unpublished Secretarial Images by Mary Davis Needed

Attached are two letters signed "Jack" by Kennedy's first secretary Mary Davis (1947-1952).

Unfortunately nothing is written in Hamilton's book "The Robot ...". Hamilton is wrong with the information that the first secretary signs in 1952 for JFK.

I am working on a JFK signature study. Copies of examples till 1952 are appreciated.

Click image to enlarge:

Tags: John f. kennedy, jfk, secretarial

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by john reznikoff on August 16, 2011 at 5:18am

Andreas,

these are great! I have many original letters in my reference file that I can provide scans of. Can you reduce the size of the attachments because they take awhile to load?

I have always felt that this secretary signed from 1948-1950 but a study could change these parameters (Hamilton illustrates this type of secretary on page 31 of his book upper left corner and attributes the date to august 1952).

The diagonal slash mark is a good "tell" . Here is an authentic example from the same period with a great postscript:

http://www.universityarchives.com/Find-an-Item/Results-List/Item-De...

Permalink Reply by Andreas Wiemer on August 16, 2011 at 11:49am

John,

I have reduced the size and I agree with you. On page 31 is a signature with a slash, but have a look at attachment three. A signature with slash, dated 1947 and with a postscript. I think the postscript is written by JFK - the word "of" is a typical JFK. The signature alone? I would say - not authentic, but with the postscript ... ??? Unfortunately I don't have the original letter to compare the ink of the signature and ps.

Christies Forbes collection sale shows in Part II a Kennedy lot and a free frank, dated 1947 with a slash. Something is wrong... Attachment four is a smal part of an interview with Mary Davis done by the JFK library ... thats very interesting.

Attachments: No photo uploads here

Permalink Reply by Matthew D on August 17, 2011 at 6:45pm

Hello,

My grandfather was in charge of security for the Kennedy Compound in Hyannisport when JFK was president. I have a signed picture that the president gave my grandfather. I also have the phone that went directly to the Whitehouse that my grandfather had in his house. I can provide pics of the auto if it will help you. I also have a cuban cigar that he gave my grandfather right before the he signed the embargo along with some gold pt 109 tie clips.

Permalink Reply by Andreas Wiemer on August 18, 2011 at 3:08am

Yes, please provide Photos.

Permalink Reply by Andreas Wiemer on August 16, 2011 at 11:56am

Attachment four - JFK Library interview, 1976 with Mary Davis

Attachments: No photo uploads here

JFK_library_interview.JPG, 36 KB

Permalink Reply by john reznikoff on August 16, 2011 at 12:38pm

Good work Andreas. I am sure your study will be stellar!

Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on August 16, 2011 at 1:06pm

Andreas,

Thanks for the new images. I uploaded them as display images. Very excited about this study!

Permalink Reply by Andreas Wiemer on August 16, 2011 at 1:57pm

Thanks Steve,

with Hamilton's and Carr's book and the UACC landmark study we have all information 1952/1953-1963, but we don't have enough information for 1947-1952. Such "early" items are the rarest Kennedy items available.

Permalink Reply by Andreas Wiemer on August 16, 2011 at 1:49pm

John,

your thoughts on the may 28, 1947 letter?

Permalink Reply by john reznikoff on August 16, 2011 at 2:28pm

I do not have my reference with me but it is likely as you say, but I will qualify it a bit:

The signature matches what hamilton atrributes to a 1952 secretary, and the postscript looks authentic. I know a very respected dealer who swears this signature (top corner p. 31 Robot book) is good (and your letter may support this) . I will dig in my files when i get back to the office.

Permalink Reply by Andreas Wiemer on August 20, 2011 at 6:39am

Hamilton is right with secretary IV, but maybe we have a problem with the early ones. Attached is a scan to compare the "long K" signatures. I think the 1947/ 1948 could be authentic, they are not similar to the Hamilton secretary.

Attachments: No photo uploads here