Photocopy of typed letter to Robert Loomis at Random House from Jim Bishop

Even though this letter is unsigned, it is very likely that this letter was originally written by Jim Bishop. The context of the letter, which discusses the writting and publishing of a book about the Kennedy assassination despite Mrs. Kennedy's objections, as well as the reference to the author's wife "Kelly" at the end of the letter, supports the author's identity as Jim Bishop. - Stephanie Allen-Givens, Collections and Exhibits Manager

Jim 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