John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy: 1963 Presidential Christmas Card.... (Total: 2 Items)

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Signed Just Days Before Dallas.

John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy: 1963 Presidential Christmas Card. Measuring 4.5" x 6.5" (closed), the cover art of the official 1963 Presidential Christmas card features a photograph of the crèche, or nativity scene, which was located in the East Room of the White House. On the inside is found the gold embossed Seal of the President of the United States, below which is printed: "With our wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year." According to Mary Evans Seeley in her book, "Season's Greetings from the White House," 1,500 cards reading "With our wishes for a Blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year" were printed with facsimile signatures of the couple and a further 700 were ordered without. An additional 100 cards were ordered, also with facsimile signatures, but with "Blessed Christmas" omitted and another 50 ordered minus the signatures. Of the 750 total cards that were ordered without signatures, only 500 were received and what has become of the remaining 250 is unknown. General Chester V. Clifton, Jr., Kennedy's senior military aide, was informed by a letter from Jeannette Lee, dated November 14, that the 500 blank cards would be shipped directly to him.

President Kennedy returned to Washington on the evening of November 18 from a trip to Florida. Sometime between his return and the evening of the 20th, both the President and First Lady began to sign the cards at their leisure, Jack in black ink and Jackie in blue. The first couple signed no more than thirty of the blank cards, approximately half of which contained the words "Blessed Christmas". On the morning of November 21, they boarded a plane and left for San Antonio, Texas, with plans to arrive in Dallas on November 22. There the president would be assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. The cards were never sent. The dual-signed cards remained relatively unknown, even to the Kennedy Library, until 1985. We offer one of the rare cards actually signed by the President and First Lady. It is in excellent condition save for a narrow strip of white paper tape along the top, likely removable, which was used in mounting the card in a frame. The interior of the card, which is the displayable side, is unmarred and in perfect condition. We are selling it together with a standard version of the same card with printed signatures. In this manner, one can assemble a display showing both the front of the card and the autographed interior.