/internal/media/dispatcher/52764/fullHandwritten letter from Jacqueline Kennedy to Jim Bishop09/17/19649 1/4 × 6 1/4 in. (23.5 × 15.9 cm)Paper; Ink, PenThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection2018.071.00010Handwritten letter from Jacqueline Kennedy to Jim Bishop written on September 17, 1964 in which she asks Bishop not to write about President Kennedy's assassination. The letter is two pages front and back and is on letterhead that reads "Mrs. John F. Kennedy" in black printed text. The body of the letter is written in blue an black ink with a black border around the edge of the page. The date is in the upper right corner of the first page, next to the letterhead. The letter reads as follows:
(Page 1)
September 17, 1964
Dear Mr. Bishop –
I write to appeal to you to please
not go ahead with your intended book
The Day Kennedy was Shot.
The idea of it is so distressing to me.
I cannot bear to think of seeing – or of seeing
advertised – a book with that name
and subject or that my children might
see it or someone might mention itto them.
This whole year has been a struggle and
it seems you can never escape from reminders -
You try so hard to avoid them – then you take the
children to the news shop – and there is a magazine
with a picture of Oswald on it staring up at
you. Now the Warren report is about to come
(Page 2)
out – I will try not to read the papers until
that is over with.
As you know – it was my fear as long
ago as December – that all sorts of different and
never ending, conflicting, and sometimes sensational
things would be written about President Kennedy’s
death.
So I hired William Manchester – to protect
President Kennedy and the truth – He was to
interrogate everyone who had any connection with
those days – and if I decide the book should
never be published – then Mr. Manchester will
be reimbursed for his time. Of if I decide
it should be known – I will decide when it should
be published – sometime in the future when the
pain is not so fresh. I suppose I must let it appear for I have no
right to suppress history, which people have a right to know, for reasons of private pain.
But all the people he spoke to were asked not
to discuss those days with anyone else – and
they have all kept that faith, and will continue to.
(Page 3)
So that leaves nothing but the Warren
Commission report – which will be public
anyway – for an author like yourself to
base a book on.
I have not read and do not plan to read
the report – but I know that it will be
factual and not contain the sort of personal
detail that you need for your kind of book.
So your book could only be a
treatment, in your words, of something which will
be published anyway.
It would be just one more thing that
would cause suffering – and it would not add
anything new.
For this reason – I beg you not to
(Page 4)
go ahead with your book. You were
most sensitive to my feelings the one
time I met you – I fervently hope
you will be again.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Kennedy
Condition note: The first page of the letter has experienced some bleeding and smudging of the ink, although the text is still legible. The other pages were not affected by this bleeding and are in good condition. [Stephanie Allen-Givens, 10/28/2020]Documents6613415.875031750123.495046990159430LetterHandwritten letter from Jacqueline Kennedy to Jim Bishop written on September 17, 1964 in which she asks Bishop not to write about the assassination of President Kennedy. The letter is two pages front and back and is on letterhead that reads "Mrs. John F. Kennedy" in black printed text. The body of the letter is written in blue and black ink with a black border around the edge of the front of the pages. In the letter Jacqueline Kennedy argues that Mr. Bishop's proposed book, "The Day Kennedy Was Shot," would not add anything new to the story given that she had already hired William Manchester to write the definitive account of the assassination and to "protect President Kennedy and the truth." She planned to control when and how Manchester’s book, "The Death of a President," would be released. Combined with the soon to be released Warren Commission report, Jacqueline Kennedy felt there would be nothing more to say and that Mr. Bishop's book would only cause more suffering and pain. In conclusion, she pleaded with Bishop to respect her feelings and not go ahead with the publication of his book. After selecting noted author William Manchester to write his account, she was unwilling to accept the idea that any other books would be published on the subject. Jacqueline Kennedy was accustomed to carefully crafting and controlling the public image of her family, and ultimately, she recognized the importance of trying to control the story of President Kennedy's death and legacy.LettersLetterheadAuthorKennedy, JacquelineBishop, JimManchester, WilliamKennedy, John F.Warren ReportWarren CommissionNew YorkDespite Mrs. Kennedy's objections, Jim Bishop proceeded with his book, The Day Kennedy Was Shot, which was published in 1968. - Stephanie Allen-Givens, Collections and Exhibits ManagerJim Bishop (1907-87) started his journalistic career at the New York Daily Mirror in 1930. He would go on to serve as associate editor of Collier's Magazine, executive editor of Liberty Magazine and a longtime columnist with King Features Syndicate, though by the 1950s he was primarily recognized as a best-selling author. In addition to a series of religious titles, his 1955 examination of the Lincoln assassination, The Day Lincoln Was Shot, sold more than 3 million copies. He continued his focus on the presidency the following year with a Cosmopolitan article, "A Day with Dwight D. Eisenhower." He had just completed the manuscript for the book, A Day in the Life of President Kennedy, ten days before the assassination. The book was published the following year and was one of the top ten books in sales for 1964. A follow-up title, A Day in the Life of President Johnson, was published in 1967. Some four years after his correspondence with Mrs. Kennedy, Bishop's The Day Kennedy Was Shot was finally published in 1968. As of 2020, the book remains in print more than half a century later. - Stephen Fagin, Curator