Sympathy acknowledgement notecard from Jacqueline Kennedy

Object number2017.048.0001.0002

DateNovember 1963 - 1964

ClassificationsDocuments

Creator Jacqueline Kennedy

ObjectNotecard

Credit LineHalee Kotara Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumPaper

Dimensions3 3/8 × 5 3/8 in. (8.6 × 13.7 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionSympathy acknowledgement notecard on cream-colored stationery from Jacqueline Kennedy; originally mailed to Mr. Wallace Bichsel and Family in White Deer, Texas. (See record for the envelope - 2017.048.0001.0001.) The notecard is bordered in black and has text printed in black as follows: "Mrs. Kennedy is deeply appreciative of your sympathy and grateful for your thoughtfulness". A black version of President Kennedy's Irish coat of arms is printed near the top of the card.

Curatorial Commentary

Included 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 Collections

Curatorial Commentary

The crest at the top of this notecard represents the coat of arms that was formally granted to President Kennedy ("and the other descendants of his great-grandfather Patrick Kennedy") by the Chief Herald of Ireland on March 17, 1961.

The coat of arms represents a combination of the symbols traditionally associated with the family names O'Kennedy and Fitzgerald, both represented on President Kennedy's family tree. The armored arm at the top of the shield, holding four arrows, surrounded by olive branches, is a direct reference to part of Kennedy's inaugural speech, in which he said, "On the Presidential coat of arms, the American eagle holds in his right talon the olive branch, while in his left is held a bundle of arrows. We intend to give equal attention to both." The four arrows are often interpreted to refer to John F. Kennedy and his three brothers.

Prior to this, no American president had been awarded a coat of arms in this manner, although Americans of Irish descent had received them. -- Lindsey Richardson, Curator of Collections

Curatorial Commentary

Within seven weeks of the assassination, Mrs. Kennedy had received more than 800,000 condolence letters. Two years later the number would exceed 1.5 million letters. Historian Dr. Ellen Fitzpatrick selected 250 of these letters for her book "Letters to Jackie: Condolences from a Grieving Nation" (2010), capturing a nation in grief and in mourning. The museum recorded Dr. Fitzpatrick's oral history interview on March 11, 2010. Both her book and oral history can be seen in the Museum's Reading Room. -- Krishna Shenoy, Librarian/Archivist