Handwritten manuscript in pencil, signed at the conclusion “John Kennedy,” one lightly lined loose-leaf page, 8 x 10.25, April 1969. Kennedy, then a fourth grader at the tony Collegiate School for Boys in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, pens an essay describing a field trip the Bethlehem Steel shipyard on April 16. In full: “When I am an adult, I will remember April 16, 1969 because it was my first time to go to a shipyard and it was nice to go on a rainy day. I’ve never seen a bottom of a ship such as the Cap Norte. It was more fun going on a ship from another country, especially from germany [sic]. It was very kind of the man to give us the helmets. We looked like a bunch of bobbin buoys or an army. I saw many ships and I learned about them too. I learned which was which - like a tanker and a freiter [sic] and all about a ship yard. What they did there. I saw a propeller shaft and a proppeller [sic].” Kennedy’s penchant for misspelling evidently plagued him into his adult life; at the height of his celebrity as a hunky man-about-town, he was famously mocked for sending a note to a paparazzo begging the man not to reveal his “adress.” Also included: TLS, signed “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,” one page, personal TIffany & Co. letterhead, April 17, 1969. Jackie writes to Douglas Mansell at Bethlehem Steel, sending thanks for organizing the field trip, “a truly memorable occasion for John and his little classmates.” In part: “[I]t was the happiest day for all of us and I only wish you could have been with us—on the return trip—to hear the enthusiasm of all the children as they talked about all they had seen and what interested them most.... I know the children will never forget the Bethlehem Shipyard or you, to say nothing of their little hats which they love....” Accompanied by the original mailing envelope. Also included: ALS, signed “Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,” one page, personal TIffany & Co. letterhead, no date [envelope postmarked April 17, 1969]. Jackie sends a follow-up letter to Mansell. In part: “John’s class wrote these compositions about their magical day at your ship yard. I thought they were so enchanting that it might amuse you to have them....” Accompanied by the original transmittal envelope with Mansell’s name written in Jackie’s hand, the handwritten student compositions Jackie mentions (18 in addition to John’s), and the original mailing envelope, addressed by Jackie and bearing her return address with the signature “Onassis.” Also included are several original photos of the students and chaperones on the field trip; John is visible in all of them, and Jackie can be seen with him in two. As a final point of historical interest it is worth noting that John’s classmates included members of several prominent New York families, among them the Rockefellers, the Guggenheims, the Newhouses, and others. In fine condition overall, with a few light folds (one just touching first name), tiny marginal spot, and mild even toning to John’s manuscript, and a touch of mild wrinkling to Jackie’s letters. A scarce, early JFK, Jr. item boasting a notable association with his legendary mother! Auction LOA John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and R&R COA.
