Auction Date:2010 Jan 13 @ 10:00 (UTC-05:00 : EST/CDT)
Location:5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
ALS signed “Jack,” on the correspondence side of a 5.25 x 3.5 picture postcard, postmarked Palm Beach, March 7, 1955. Kennedy writes to Grace Burke in Boston. In full: “This fellow looks ready for a good cry like you know who, Grace.” The postcard has additionally been signed “Dave &” by Kennedy’s aide, Dave Powers. The startling image features a tearful African-American on his knees, menaced by three alligators (one of whom has him by the seat of the pants), captioned by “A Darky’s Prayer,” a verse in ridiculous, stereotypical “black” dialect: “Dese gaters looks so feary/And yet dey ’peered so tame/But now that I done met ’em/I’ll neber be de same.” In very good condition, with mild handling wear, Powers’s signature lightly touching JFK’s, and faint water staining causing slight running to a few letters of text. The writing is otherwise clear and dark.
JFK was in Florida recovering from back surgery in which a metal plate and screws were removed—surgery that compounded his already chronic back pain and left him with a lifetime of discomfort. Just a few days before mailing this postcard, he had resumed walking without crutches, although he was still two months away from returning to his duties in the US Senate. It’s no doubt that the pain left Kennedy with a desire for the “good cry” mentioned here, though the subject matter of the postcard remains shocking on a number of levels.
At the time, JFK was one of the most prominent figures in the Senate, and the country was embroiled in some of the most active civil-rights activities in history. One can only wonder whether his apparent lack of political judgment shown here was a reflection of his political views at the time. History shows that Kennedy was among the politicians who voted against Eisenhower’s 1957 Civil Rights Act. Even so, Kennedy’s civil rights record clearly underwent a significant evolution in the span of less than a decade—prompted, some theorize, by a combination of inner conviction and purely political considerations. Over time, JFK became an outspoken advocate of minorities, culminating in such highly visible episodes as the dispatch of thousands of troops to ensure the safe enrollment of African-American James Meredith at the University of Mississippi in 1962, as well as his own Civil Rights Act, signed into law in 1964 by his successor, LBJ. A startling, one-of-a-kind political faux pas by one of America’s most significant leaders.
Auction Location:
5 Rt 101A Suite 5, Amherst, New Hampshire, 03031, United States
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