Description:

Kennedy John

John Kennedy Large Harvard Archive with Impeccable Provenance

 

Letters from Harvard University representatives asking Kennedy to join the school's Board of Overseers during the mid-1950s, including a handwritten note by esteemed Board member Charlie Wyzanski urging the then-Senator to join the Board. Inclusive of:

 

  1. His original bio, plus two carbon copies
  2. One negative and 3 positive final print copies of the bio with his photograph
  3. Harvard's Nomination Letter dated 1954 and signed John Toulmin, Chairman
  4. Carbon of Kennedy's secretarial response to above, and Harvard Alumni letter response to same, noting Kennedy's long hospital stay post surgery from his War injury
  5. Carbon of Kennedy's secretarial response to filling out Kennedy's biography, and carbon copy of follow-up noting additional missing biographical information
  6. Harvard's nomination letter dated 1956, signed Peter Woodbury, Chairman
  7. Carbon of Kennedy's response to above
  8. Harvard's response to above, requesting Kennedy's biographical information (with blank fill-out form attached)
  9. Carbon of Kennedy's response to above indicating he was enclosing his bio (bio not included in the archive)
  10. Original autographed letter signed by Charlie Wyzanski, dated January 1956
  11. Two typed letters from Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln dated 1988, 1993 to Robert White, noted Kennedy collector  (see below for details)
  12. Memorandum on US Senate letterhead discussing Kennedy's election to the board of Overseers and that he chose to serve on the Astronomy Committee, among others.

 

 A large group in near fine condition.

 

Eventually Kennedy not only accepted the nomination, he also served on a committee devoted to improving the overall curriculum of Astronomy. Kennedy's interest in the fields of science involved with space exploration was further demonstrated when he vowed, as President, to place a man on the moon by the year 1970.


By charter, Harvard has two governing boards—the President and Fellows of Harvard College (also known as the Corporation) and the Board of Overseers. The basic architecture of the two-board system is defined by the University’s charter, which is reflected in a series of documents dating to the mid-seventeenth century. Through their complementary efforts, the two boards perform the essential roles ordinarily associated with a board of trustees, while helping to shape the University’s agenda, inquiring into the quality and progress of its activities, and assuring that Harvard remains true to its mission.

 

Provenance: Ex Robert White, who obtained the pieces from Evelyn Lincoln, thence acquired via auction. White's biography is shown below.

 

A Carroll County man's collection of President John F. Kennedy memorabilia, including a gold watch, one of his rocking chairs and flags from his presidential limousine, is among thousands of personal items from a number of collectors that are scheduled to be sold in a three-day auction that begins today in New York City.

Robert L. White, a retired cleaning-supply salesman whose collection of 350,000 items relates to the life of the 35th president, spent more than 40 years gathering Kennedy material. His collection, the largest in private hands, is rivaled only by that of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.

White, who lived in Woodbine, died two years ago. He was 54.

White's collection began in his youth when he wrote to Kennedy, requesting an autograph. After Kennedy's assassination, he traveled to Washington to attend the funeral.

What became a lifelong obsession was given a significant boost when White befriended Evelyn Lincoln, Kennedy's personal secretary and presidential pack rat, who filled her Chevy Chase apartment with steamer trunks and filing cabinets containing material relating to the late president.

In the decades after Kennedy's assassination, White, who continued to hunt for additional material, was further assisted in his collecting by Kennedy family members, acquaintances and Cabinet members, who came forward to sell items to him.

"Not all Kennedys are rich," White told a reporter several years ago.

At Lincoln's death in 1995, she bequeathed her Kennedy material to White, who for years housed his growing collection in the basement of his mother's home on a quiet side street in Catonsville.

White, who was eager to share his collection with others, made it available on an appointment-only basis.

A friend described White as a "tactile historian," who easily handed over to visitors Kennedy's wallet, glasses or other items. He always urged them to sit in the presidential rocker - the backrest cushion of which was creased from Kennedy's back brace - so they could experience history firsthand.

"He believed once it was in your hands, it was vibrant and alive," Allan E. Burt, a longtime friend and business associate, told The Sun at White's death.

After being thwarted in his efforts to have a Kennedy museum built in Annapolis, White moved the collection in 1998 to the Florida International Museum in St. Petersburg, where it remained until returning to Maryland shortly before his death.

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