Original drawing of an airplane by the five-year-old John F. Kennedy, Jr., pencil and colored pencil on an off-white 12 x 9 sheet, signed in colored pencil “This is an airplane from John Kennedy” and in ballpoint “Jacqueline Kennedy.” The pencil notation “Jan. 4, 1966, Trip 274 SLD-ORD” has been added in another hand. (SLD and ORD are the FAA codes for Salt Lake City and Chicago O’Hare Airports, respectively; the notation was added, perhaps, by an airline employee who was “gifted” with the drawing during the flight.) The chilling significance of the subject matter is at once clear in light of the circumstances of JFK Jr.’s death. On July 16, 1999, while piloting a Piper Saratoga II HP from Essex County, New Jersey to Martha’s Vineyard to attend the wedding of cousin Rory Kennedy, JFK, Jr. evidently became disoriented and crashed the plane into the Atlantic Ocean, killing himself, his wife, Carolyn Bessette, and his sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette. In very good, clean condition, with intersecting folds (slightly touching John’s name) and a few wrinkles, small spots, and tears (none touching image or signature). A remarkable and poignant relic of this most storied and tragic of families! R&R COA.
