/internal/media/dispatcher/48055/fullPrayer card for John Fitzgerald Kennedy11/25/19633 15/16 × 2 1/2 in. (10 × 6.4 cm)PaperJesse Moyers Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza2014.074.00600One prayer or funeral card printed in black and white for President John F. Kennedy. The front of the card has a black and white photograph portrait of President Kennedy that takes up three-quarters of the top of the card. The lower portion has a white band with the following text printed in black:
"John Fitzgerald Kennedy
35th President of the United States
Born May 29, 1917
Inaugurated January 20, 1961
Died November 22, 1963"
A thin black band runs across the bottom of the front of the prayer card.
The reverse of the card has a thin black band that runs across the very top and bottom edges. The St. Ambrose Prayer 2 is quoted at the top of this side of the funeral card; followed by a single outline of a star. Next is the text "My Jesus have mercy on the Soul of John Fitzgerald Kennedy", followed by a second outline of a star. The bottom half of the funeral card has the Prayer for a Departed Man printed below the word "PRAYER" and followed by the text: "Indulgence 500 days--Raccolta 600)".
In a smaller font printed toward the bottom of the back of the prayer card is the text:
"Schuhmann Ptg. Co., Lou., Ky. [sic] \ (over)".
The card has some small stains on both sides; the paper is wrinkled and creased; corners have very small folds and tears; some black ink from printing has worn off. (JM 07/21/2016)Documents654876.350012700010.001270002546740Prayer card0E-10Prayer card printed in black and white for President John F. Kennedy. A portrait of President Kennedy taken by Fabrian Bachrach occupies the top two-thirds of the card; beneath the image is the following text:
"John Fitzgerald Kennedy
35th President of the United States
Born May 29, 1917
Inaugurated January 20, 1961
Died November 22, 1963"
There are three prayers on the back of the card. Quoted at the top is the St. Ambrose Prayer 2, followed by the text: "My Jesus have mercy on the Soul of John Fitzgerald Kennedy", followed by the Prayer for a Departed Man which is concluded with: "(Indulgence 500 days--Raccolta 600)".
In a smaller font printed toward the bottom of the back of the prayer card is the text:
"Schuhmann Ptg. Co., Lou., Ky."Prayer cardMemorialsReligionMass cardCatholicismFuneralPop CultureMourningKennedy, John F.Bachrach, FabianLouisvilleIncluded in the Museum's temporary exhibit, "Mourning a President," about the funeral and mourning rites for President John F. Kennedy, this item will be on display on the Museum's seventh floor from November 17, 2017 to February 19, 2018. -- Lindsey Richardson, Curator of CollectionsFabian Bachrach (1917-2010) was a fourth generation photographer whose family commercial portrait studio had photographed nearly every U.S. president since Abraham Lincoln. Sen. John F. Kennedy did a portrait sitting with Bachrach in 1959, though none of the photographs proved usable because they were out of focus or Kennedy appeared "awkward." After multiple attempts scheduling a reshoot, Fabian Bachrach got his chance in the middle of the 1960 presidential campaign when Kennedy was in his U.S. Senate office. The reshoot lasted approximately ten minutes, and Bachrach had time for only six photographs. A black and white image showing Kennedy looking directly into the camera became the official presidential portrait. A color image from that same reshoot, showing Kennedy in a leather armchair with the American flag behind him, was also widely distributed. Both of these Bachrach photos appeared on memorial materials following the assassination. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator