Books and Manuscripts

Mini-Archive of John F. Kennedy and the 1960 Presidential Campaign

"Decided to send the enclosed pass with the autographs of Jack and Jackie on the back...have fun showing it, but don't you dare lose it--if he wins, its worth money."

Los Angeles, Washington, D.C, and Miami, ca. 1960-72. Comprising 15 items belonging to New York publicist and Kennedy campaign staffer Lynn Traiger during the 1960 presidential campaign. Includes a printed press pass, signed on verso by John Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy, for the Kennedy-Johnson Campaign Dinner at the Sheraton Park Hotel, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, September 20, 1960; with a typed letter from Traiger to her parents enclosing the above press pass, and recounting the event: "So there I was eating dinner and drinking up a storm with all the drunken political reporters, and then sitting on top of Jackie Kennedy's head--on a balcony over her head--taking notes while Jack ruined the prepared speech notes...Decided to send the enclosed pass with the autographs of Jack and Jackie on the back...have fun showing it, but don't you dare lose it--if he wins, its (sic) worth money."; one printed July 15, 1960 Democratic National Convention "Work Area" pass; one printed Democratic National Convention "Acceptance Speech Rally" pass; one printed "Kennedy for President Press" pass; one Democratic National Convention Dinner press "Messenger" identification sticker; one booklet, Democratic Manual for the Democratic National Convention of 1960, by Clarence Cannon (12mo, 55 pp.); four printed Democratic National Convention tickets; one unpublished color photo of Kennedy in a crowd, presumably taken by Traiger while on the campaign trail; one typed letter on United States Senate stationery, to Traiger, thanking her for her work on his campaign, dated December 1, 1960, with the autopen signature of Kennedy; one printed Kennedy Inauguration invitation, with original mailing envelope; one printed Inaugural Ball invitation, in original mailing envelope, with accompanying RSVP card and envelope. Lot also includes one 1972 Democratic National Convention, "Convention Information" booklet, and her 1972 Democratic National Convention "Alternate" delegate pass. Condition varies, generally very well preserved.

A fascinating mini-archive of John F. Kennedy's successful 1960 presidential campaign. Lynn Traiger (1936-2020) was a California and New York-based publicist, administrator, and journalist, and was working for Kennedy's 1960 campaign when she gathered the items in this collection. A 1958 graduate of U.C.L.A., she later received her master's degree from Columbia University's School of Journalism. Following the 1960 campaign she was a frequent figure in the New York art world and beyond, and was Assistant Director of the Department of Public Information at the Museum of Modern Art. She was also a public relations consultant for museums in Boston, Hartford, Berkeley and New York, and was a Senior Curatorial Assistant of the New York University Art Collection. In 1972 she was an alternate delegate from New York during the Democratic National Convention in Miami.