January 25th Rare Autograph & Book Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/25/2024
John F. Kennedy autograph letter signed (signed by Kennedy as "Louis B. Mayer" as a joke) on White House letterhead. 8" x 5", 1 page. The letter reads "To his brother-in-law Peter Lawford: "Read & be prepared for revisions at 8:30 AM -Louis B. Mayer." The letter has a stain in the top left corner. From the estate of actor Peter Lawford. This JFK ALS on "The White House '' stationary is one of only a handful of JFK ALS as President known to exist as just about everything at this time was typewritten.
According to Jame Spada's book on Lawford, "Peter Lawford: The Man Who Kept the Secrets" (p. 250), Warner Brothers was planning a movie version of Robert Donovan's book "PT 109." and Kennedy wanted Lawford's reaction and advice on the script (Spada references this letter). Lawford was visiting the Kennedys at the White House and according to his widow, Patricia Seaton Lawford, Kennedy left this note on Lawford's breakfast tray. Lawford was having contract difficulties with MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer at the time. This letter shows Kennedy's great sense of humor. Per the consignor, he was told that Patricia Seaton Lawford said Lawford told her he told Kennedy the night before that he wanted nothing to do with LB Mayer so when he saw this note from Kennedy in his breakfast tray the next morning his first reaction was surprise and being upset and reacted by pushing the tray and note away from him causing his coffee to spill onto the ALS where it remains today. That is the original coffee stain in the top left.
Included is an 8" x 10" black and white photograph of Kennedy and Lawford in a limousine.
John F. Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person to assume the presidency by election and the youngest president at the end of his tenure. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the U.S. Congress prior to his presidency.
With One of a Kind Collectibles LOA.
John F. Kennedy Extremely Rare ALS as President on White House Stationary to Brother-In-Law Peter Lawford
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