A First Edition of the First Ever White House Guide Book, Created by Jacqueline Kennedy and Signed by Her and President John F. Kennedy on Christmas Day 1962
A great rarity: One of just 100 numbered copies of the book, and the only First Edition we can find having reached the market that is signed by both John and Jacqueline Kennedy.
The Kennedy years are known as the Camelot era. They were years of the flourishing of the arts. Jacqueline Kennedy made the White House a museum and brought in works of historical import and catalogued them. The White House Historical Association was established in 1961 as a non-profit organization to enhance the...
The Kennedy years are known as the Camelot era. They were years of the flourishing of the arts. Jacqueline Kennedy made the White House a museum and brought in works of historical import and catalogued them. The White House Historical Association was established in 1961 as a non-profit organization to enhance the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the White House. In 1962, Mrs. Kennedy published the first ever guide book to the White House, which was the first publication of the association, with a limited edition first printing of only 100 copies. A wealth of drawings and photographs in this green-bound book give the reader a look at the interior of America’s most famous house. Rooms and objects are described not only in terms of interesting furniture and pictures, but the human history that took place in each room during First Family life there. For half a century, each First Lady has continued a tradition of involvement with the association. Mrs. Kennedy later created a second edition of this book, with a red binding and each number marked "A". This green edition precedes the red and is the First Edition.
Thomas Braden worked for the Central Intelligence Agency, working directly for CIA chief Allen Dulles. After he left the agency, he became first a newspaper owner, thanks to a $100,000 loan from friend Nelson Rockefeller, and then a journalist, who helped launch CNN's "Crossfire". His children inspired the well known television series, "Eight is Enough." His wife Joan, was, as the New York Times wrote in her obituary, "Hostess to a capital elite." She was a senior aide to Governor and later Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and worked on the campaigns of both John and Robert Kennedy. Her rumored affairs were only thinly veiled and paramours included Defense Secretary Robert McNamara, among others. Her tell-all memoir was temporarily yanked from publication after Jackie Kennedy supposedly felt that some unseemly revelations touched the Kennedy family. The Bradens were the ultimate Washington family, and Joan had the eyes and ears of both Bobby and Jack. She was co-chair of Bobby's California primary campaign in 1968, and rushed Jackie to the hospital to see Bobby before he died. As Jackie Kennedy once said, "That little freckle-faced girl does everything and goes everywhere and Jack and Bobby are forever asking her opinion."
An extremely, if not unique, first edition, green-bound White House guide book, 132 pages, in original binding and plastic slip, number 85 of the original 100, signed by President John F. Kennedy and inscribed and signed by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy "Christmas Day, 1962. For Joan with much love, Jackie."
This piece was acquired from the descendants of Joan and Tom Braden and has never before been offered for sale.
We have found only one other copy of this green original first edition having been offered for sale, and that was carried by our firm. All other copies we've seen are the second, red-covered edition.
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