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Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-072-001
This diary, kept by Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy as a 6- and 7-year old child, contains handwritten entries detailing his daily activities from January 1, 1939, through September 9, 1939, while residing at 14 Prince’s Gate in London, England, where the Kennedy family lived during Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s tenure as United States Ambassador to Great Britain. The gold stamped title on the cover reads, “Diary / No. 28 / 1939.” Pages contain pre-printed ruling and text, including entry dates, as well as manuscript entries written in black ink. Most entries were not written by Ted, but most likely by Kennedy family nurse, Luella Hennessey, with Ted dictating. Ted’s handwriting appears in entries from July 11, 12, 16, 17, and 18. Entries cover a variety of topics, including Ted’s education at the Gibbs School and St. Thomas More School, both in London; various train and boat rides during the family’s travels; social events, including a party attended by the British royal family at which Ted danced with Princess Elizabeth; outings to parks, zoos, movies, and pantomime performances; and playtime and sports activities with family and friends. Specific events and experiences that Ted mentions include a family trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland; Adolf Hitler’s Reichstag speech; the death of Pope Pius XI; Ted’s seventh birthday, for which he received a new dog, named “Sammy”; the family’s trip to Rome in Italy, as well as the Vatican, during which he received his First Holy Communion from Pope Pius XII; bombings of London by the Irish Republican Army; a visit to the estate of family friend, Sir James Calder, in Norfolk, England; a family trip to Cannes and Antibes in France; events leading up to Great Britain’s declaration of war on Germany, including the relocation of members of the Kennedy family to financier John Pierpont Morgan, Jr.'s country estate in Hertfordshire, England, while awaiting transport back to America; and the sinking of the S.S. Athenia. Luella Hennessey and the Kennedy children's governess, Elizabeth Dunn, also feature prominently throughout the diary. About half of the pages for July and August do not contain entries. The last entry of the diary is September 9, 1939; the remaining pages dated through December 31, 1939, are blank. The diary also contains three loose photographs, one loose newspaper clipping, and one loose printed birthday invitation.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-071-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Joseph P. “Joe” Kennedy, Jr., documents his education, travels, and family life from 1938 to 1941. The gold stamped title on the cover reads, "Scrap Book." It contains photographs of and printed ephemera related to trips to Europe in 1938 and 1939; his election as a Massachusetts delegate to the 1940 Democratic National Convention; his enrollment at Harvard Law School in 1940; and time spent with family and friends at the Kennedy family residence in Palm Beach, Florida, and on trips to St. Moritz, Switzerland, and the French Riviera, including at the Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, France. Other destinations pictured in photographic prints and postcards include Mexico, Spain, Poland, Ireland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, and California. Of note are photographs of the Argelès-sur-Mer concentration camp for Republican refugees in Argelès-sur-Mer, France, which Joe, Jr., visited before touring Spain in the final months of the Spanish Civil War, as well as a photograph of Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy christening the Esso Richmond, a new tanker ship, alongside her parents, John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald, and her daughter, Eunice Kennedy. Printed ephemera pasted into the scrapbook include invitations to various parties, receptions, luncheons, dinners, weddings, meetings, and banquets, including an event at Buckingham Palace; fliers for discussions, rallies, and debates featuring Joe, Jr., that were held by organizations including College Men for Defense First, Brotherhood of Temple Ohabei Shalom, and the Young Democrats of Massachusetts; Spanish paper currency; and telegrams regarding political events and rallies sent by representatives of both State and National Democratic Committees. Other Kennedy family members and friends pictured in photographs and clippings include Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.; John F. Kennedy; Rosemary Kennedy; Kathleen Kennedy; Patricia Kennedy; Robert F. Kennedy; Jean Kennedy; Edward M. Kennedy; Torbert Macdonald; Hugh Fraser; Tom Killefer; Tom Egerton; and Diana Maria Gerli. Loose materials include a photographic postcard from Sofia, Bulgaria and Shawmut Bank promotional material, possibly a bookmark. The scrapbook contains 133 photographic prints (including a contact print of a strip of three 35mm black and white negatives, and one photo fragment); 32 photographic postcards; and 62 pieces of ephemera, including invitations, correspondence, telegrams, tickets, newspaper clippings, calling cards, advertisements, programs, and fliers.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-070-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Joseph P. “Joe” Kennedy, Jr., documents his travels, family life, political work, and naval career between 1938 and 1941. The gold stamped title on the cover reads, “Scrap Book.” It contains newspaper clippings, photographic prints and postcards, handwritten and typed letters, and printed ephemera related to his travels in the United States and Europe, including a 1939 visit to Spain at the end of the Spanish Civil War; his involvement with the Democratic Party, including as a Massachusetts delegate to the 1940 Democratic National Convention; his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and his diplomatic work as U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom; his family's travels between the U.S. and England; his naval training at the Squantum Naval Air Station in Quincy, Massachusetts; and other news and current events of the time. Other Kennedy family members mentioned in clippings include Joe, Jr.’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; his siblings, John F. Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy; grandparents, John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald; aunt, Margaret L. Burke; uncle, Thomas A. Fitzgerald; cousins, Marion Eunice Fitzgerald and John F. “Jack” Fitzgerald; and his sister Kathleen's future husband, William "Billy" Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington. Photographs feature Joe, Jr., attending unidentified events, with fellow trainees at the Squantum Naval Air Station, and holding a fish. An additional photograph shows an aerial view of the Kennedy family home in Palm Beach, Florida. Photographic postcards feature images of canals in Xochimilco, Mexico, and of Joe, Jr., in St. Moritz, Switzerland. Senders of typed and handwritten correspondence include British politician Arthur Greenwood; politician and Democratic National Convention Chairman, James A. Farley; journalist Arthur Krock; Executive Director of the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety, J. W. Farley; and Edward Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby. Printed ephemera include a dance card with a pencil attached by string; a flier advertising a debate on Lend-Lease policy; a printed menu and seating chart for a dinner attended by Chairman of the London Stock Exchange, R. B. Pearson; a ticket book for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, in July 1940; and a printed booklet published by the Squantum Naval Air Station titled, "Flight 62 / Knocks It Off," and dated August 7, 1941. Another item of note is a paper bag printed with Spanish text; bags of this type originally contained loaves of bread and were part of a campaign by General Francisco Franco in which airplanes dropped bread over Madrid, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War. Original notations are written in blue and black ink and pencil on the rectos and/or versos of some of the clippings. This scrapbook contains 75 newspaper and magazine clippings, nine photographic prints and postcards, six pieces of correspondence, and seven other pieces of printed ephemera.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-067-001
This photograph album, compiled by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, documents the travels of the Kennedy family in 1938 and 1939 during Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.'s tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Of note are photographs of the family's trans-Atlantic voyage from the United States to London, England, aboard the S.S. Washington; their residence at 14 Prince's Gate in London; a Changing of Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace, including photos taken by Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy with his box camera; members of the Life Guards regiment of the British Army; the Serpentine recreational lake and Kensington Gardens in London; "Barroc End," the home the Kennedy family rented in Ascot, England; Paris, Fontainebleau, Barbizon, Cannes, Mougins, and Antibes, France; Interlakken, the Rhone Glacier, Lucerne, and the Little Scheidegg mountain pass in Switzerland; Cologne and Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany, as well as views from aboard a steamship on the Rhine River; Marken and Volendam, Holland (the Netherlands); Blarney and Cork, Ireland; Vatican City; and Rome, Italy. Those pictured include Rose; Joseph, Sr.; Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.; John F. Kennedy; Rosemary Kennedy; Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy; Eunice Kennedy; Patricia “Pat” Kennedy; Robert F. “Bob” Kennedy; Jean Kennedy; Ted; Kennedy family friends, Edward E. Moore and Mary Moore; Governess to the Kennedy children, Elizabeth Dunn (referred to as “Dunn” in original captions); and nurse to the Kennedy children, Luella Hennessey. Many leaves contain original handwritten captions in white ink, although the handwriting does not belong to Rose and the writer has not been determined. Original handwritten inscriptions are written in black and blue ink and pencil on the versos of many photographs. This photograph album contains 150 photographic prints.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-064-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, contains newspaper and magazine clippings from 1938 and 1939 that document a wide range of activities of the Kennedy family during Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Of note are clippings related to the family’s trans-Atlantic voyage aboard the S.S. Washington and arrival in London, England; their residence at 14 Prince’s Gate in London; Kathleen Kennedy's purported relationship with J. Peter Grace, son of W.R. Grace and Company president, Joseph Peter Grace, Sr.; Ambassador Kennedy’s first speech in his diplomatic role; Rose and Viscountess Nancy Astor’s attendance at a luncheon at the American Women's Club; Joseph P. "Joe" Kennedy, Jr.’s participation on the Harvard University rugby team; Kathleen and Rosemary Kennedy’s presentation at the Court of St. James’s; dances and parties attended and hosted by Ambassador Kennedy and Rose, including one attended by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth; Edward M. “Teddy” Kennedy’s assistance at the ribbon cutting of London’s Children’s Zoo; Ambassador Kennedy’s arrival in London with Joe, Jr., and John F. “Jack” Kennedy, following a trip back to the United States; Ambassador Kennedy’s receipt of an honorary degree from the National University of Ireland; the family’s vacations in France and Ireland; winter activities including skating and skiing in St. Moritz, Switzerland; Jack's impressions of Europe after a month abroad in England, Germany, and France; Kathleen's relationship with William “Billy” Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington; the family’s audience with Pope Pius XII at his coronation in Vatican City; Kathleen and Joe, Jr.’s visit to Madrid, Spain; Eunice Kennedy’s presentation at the Court of St. James’s; and Billy Hartington’s coming of age party. This scrapbook contains 417 newspaper and magazine clippings.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-061-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Joseph P. “Joe” Kennedy, Jr., documents his education, travels, and other aspects of his life from 1936 to 1940. The scrapbook contains clippings, photographs, postcards, and printed ephemera related to his time at Harvard University; his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom; trips to various European countries; and social events and activities. Newspaper and periodical clippings cover a wide range of topics, including Joe, Jr.’s athletic career and involvement in student government at Harvard; the Kennedy family’s arrival in London, England, following Joe, Sr.'s appointment as ambassador; the prospect of British involvement in the global conflict that became World War II; Joe, Sr.'s opinions on and actions related to the war; and other political and society news and events. Others featured in clippings and pictured in photographs include Joe, Jr.’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; his siblings, John F. “Jack” Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy, Patricia Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jean Kennedy, and Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy; his grandparents, John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald; his cousin, Joseph Francis Gargan, Jr.; and family friend, Hugh Fraser. Printed ephemera pasted into the scrapbook include invitations to various parties, receptions, luncheons, dinners, weddings, meetings, and banquets, including a ball at Buckingham Palace; event programs; menus; tickets; and calling cards. Of note are a set of fingerprints that Joe, Jr., had taken during a visit to the Boston Police Headquarters; an envelope containing five bird feathers; photographs of Joe, Jr., dressed in drag for a Harvard theater production; clippings related to his purported relationship with figure skater Megan Taylor; a letter from British Member of Parliament, Anthony Eden; photographic prints and postcards that capture a Kennedy family trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland; a photograph of Joe, Jr., aboard the R.M.S. Mauretania; clippings related to Joe, Jr.’s voyage from London to New York City, New York; Spanish paper currency; an unsent postcard addressed to Katherine “Kikoo” Conboy, nanny to the Kennedy children, signed by Joe, Jr.; a photographic postcard signed by Alois Lang, the actor who portrayed Jesus in the 1934 performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany; contact prints of strips of 35mm black and white negatives that capture scenes from Joe, Jr.’s 1939 trip to Spain with Kathleen following the end of the Spanish Civil War, including images of Spanish Loyalist tanks and damage from the siege of the Alcázar of Toledo; a photographic postcard featuring an image of Adolf Hitler shaking hands with Hermann Göring; signed portrait photos of several unidentified women; and prints of four watercolor illustrations depicting scenes from the Spanish Civil War, credited to “Artillery Lieutenant Luis Serrano.” Other destinations pictured in photographic prints and postcards include Warsaw, Poland; Cannes, France; Capri, Rome, Venice, Naples, and Amalfi, Italy; Copenhagen, Denmark; Czechoslovakia; Killarney and other locations in Ireland; and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. Original handwritten captions and inscriptions are written in black ink on some of the leaves. This photograph album contains 164 photographic prints and postcards, 134 newspaper and periodical clippings, 29 pieces of printed ephemera, six banknotes and two banknote fragments, four pieces of correspondence, and four prints of watercolor drawings.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-060-001
This diary, kept by Kathleen Kennedy, contains handwritten entries in blue and black ink detailing her daily activities from December 20, 1935, to June 19, 1936, when she spent time abroad attending the Holy Child School in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and traveling with friends in Europe. The gold stamped title on the cover reads, “Agenda / 1936.” Pages contain pre-printed ruling and text, including entry dates printed in French, as well as manuscript entries in blue ink. An original handwritten inscription in blue ink on the front free endpaper reads, "Kathleen Kennedy / 44 Rue Perronet / Neuilly Sur Seine." An original handwritten note in blue ink on the title page reads, “Private - All who look within do so under pain of sin!!!" Entries are mostly written in English, although Kathleen would occasionally write in French or switch between English and French within a single entry. Entries for December 1935 are written at the back of the diary on pages with the pre-printed titles, “Notes” and “Récapitulations.” Entries cover a variety of topics, including her time spent in Gstaad, Switzerland, for the 1935 Christmas holiday, where she skied, luged, and ice skated; her education at the Holy Child School; day trips to Paris, France; and films, parties, dances, and other social and religious events that she attended. Entries also document trips to Geneva, Switzerland; London, East Grinstead, and Cambridge, England; and Fontainebleau and Reims, France. Entries for February 27 through 29 all read, “Retreat,” with no further details. Notations on the diary pages spanning March 26 through April 22 indicate a trip to Italy, and one entry, at the end of March 1936, includes an itinerary with locations in Venice, Florence, and Rome, but no other details are provided about the trip. Kathleen also refers to various communications that she has with members of her family, including her grandfather, John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald; parents, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; and brothers, Joseph P. "Joe" Kennedy, Jr., and John F. "Jack" Kennedy. Friends and classmates mentioned include Elizabeth “Betty” Rice, Mary Veronica “Von” Rice, Edith Garver, Allison Garver, Eleanor “Ellie” Hoguet, Derek Richardson, Frederick Sinclair “Freddy” Carson, Kirk LeMoyne “Lem” Billings, and Ralph “Rip” Horton. The last entry of the diary is June 19, 1936; the remaining pages dated through December 31, 1936, are blank.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-059-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Kathleen Kennedy, documents her life during the years 1935 to 1937, when she spent time abroad attending the Holy Child School in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and traveling with friends through Europe. Ephemera pasted into the scrapbook include dance and ball cards and tickets for events at Trinity College and Jesus College of the University of Cambridge in England; programs for rowing, lawn tennis, and ice hockey competitions at the University of Cambridge and a skiing event in Gstaad, Switzerland; periodical and newspaper clippings; embroidered cloth patches from the Royal Military College of Canada; and a Catholic devotional scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Telegrams are from Kathleen's father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.; mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; brothers, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., and John F. Kennedy; aunt, Mary Loretta Kennedy Connelly; and friends, Derek Richardson, Frederick Sinclair “Freddy” Carson, Elizabeth “Betty” Rice, and Mary Veronica “Von” Rice. The scrapbook also contains photographic postcards, photographs of Kathleen with Derek Richardson and Freddy Carson, itineraries, maps, visitor pamphlets, train schedules, and menus from her travels to Venice, Florence, and Rome, Italy; Paris and Reims, France; and Moscow, Russia. This scrapbook contains 72 pieces of printed and three-dimensional ephemera and 19 photographic postcards.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-056-001
This photograph album, compiled by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, documents events from 1938 to 1939 while her husband, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., served as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. An original handwritten inscription in blue ink taped to the front cover reads, “Garden Party / London 1939 / St. Moritz 1938 / Kathleen Jean + Bobby / Embassy.” An original typed inscription that was once taped to the inside front cover but has become detached reads, "I should appreciate it if no one remove pictures from this book. If you do so, it will not be so interesting for other people. Personally, I should like to keep all the pictures to look at myself, because as you know we lost all the moving pictures of you children. Many of these pictures have been lost in the past, due to the clamor of newspapermen, so please do not remove any more. Thank you. Rose Kennedy." Of note are photographs of a garden party that the couple hosted at the Ambassador's residence at 14 Prince's Gate in London, England, on July 4th, 1939; of a family trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland, following the Christmas holiday in 1938; and of the Kennedy children at the Prince's Gate residence. Those pictured include Joseph, Sr.; Rose; Kathleen Kennedy; Eunice Kennedy; Patricia Kennedy; Robert F. Kennedy; and Jean Kennedy. Others pictured attending the Prince's Gate garden party, as identified in original captions and contemporary newspaper accounts, include Phyllis G. Seymour-Holm; actress Fanny (also spelled "Fannie") Ward; and sisters Mary Carolyn "Marylyn" Bruner and Betty Bruner. Original handwritten captions are written in white ink on the leaves beneath some of the photographs. This photograph album contains 46 photographic prints and photographic postcards.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-058-001
This photograph album, compiled by Kathleen "Kick" Kennedy, documents her life during the years 1935 to 1937, when she spent time abroad attending the Holy Child School in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, and traveling with family and friends before returning to the United States to complete her education at the Noroton School of the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Noroton Heights, Connecticut. The stamped title on the cover reads, “Pictures.” Photographs capture her time spent in Gstaad, Switzerland, for the 1935 Christmas holiday; sightseeing in Paris, France; a tour of Italy with friends from March to April 1936; a trip to Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) and Moscow, Russia, with her mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, in May 1936; a visit to England with friends in June 1936; sailing on Cape Cod in the summer of 1936; Christmas in Palm Beach, Florida, in 1936; and a trip to Ireland and Scotland with her brother, Joseph P. "Joe" Kennedy, Jr., in August 1937. Also included are numerous photographs of Kathleen and her classmates at both the Holy Child School and the Noroton School. Of note are photographs of Prime Minister of Italy, Benito Mussolini; Nazi soldiers marching in Berlin, Germany; Michelangelo’s David statue at its original location in Florence, Italy; Mt. Vesuvius and the ruins at Pompeii, Italy; and Kathleen kissing the Blarney Stone at Blarney Castle in Ireland. Other Kennedy family members, friends, and classmates of Kathleen’s pictured include Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.; John F. Kennedy; Rosemary Kennedy; Eunice Kennedy; Patricia Kennedy; Robert F. Kennedy; Jean Kennedy; Edward M. Kennedy; Alexander William Guy “Alex” de Pourtales; Eleanor “Ellie” Hoguet; Derek Richardson; Frederick Sinclair “Freddy” Carson; Lawrence “Larry” Wilkinson; Anne McDonnell; Charlotte McDonnell; Torbert “Torb” Macdonald; Sir James Calder; Lady Mildred Calder; Jim McColl; Kirk LeMoyne “Lem” Billings; Ralph “Rip” Horton; Elizabeth “Betty” Rice; Mary Veronica “Von” Rice; Sonio Coletti-Petrucca; Allison Garver; and Edith Garver. This photograph album contains 331 photographic prints.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-054-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Joseph P. “Joe” Kennedy, Jr., documents his education, travels, and family life between 1932 and 1938. The title on the cover reads, “Album.” The scrapbook contains photographs of and printed ephemera related to his studies at the London School of Economics (1933-1934) and Harvard University (1934-1938), as well as time spent with family and friends at the Kennedy family residences in Bronxville in New York, Palm Beach in Florida, and Hyannis Port in Massachusetts, and traveling in Europe. Destinations pictured include Switzerland, England, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Scotland, Russia, Ukraine, Austria, Bermuda, Georgia, and France. Of note are telegrams from Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy to their son; photographs of Joe, Jr., skiing with friends in Zermatt, Switzerland; two portrait cards from the Residenz Museum in Munich, Germany; photographic postcards featuring images of the 1934 performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany; an invitation from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to Joe, Jr., for an event at the White House; materials related to Joe, Jr.’s athletic career at Harvard, where he participated in football, swimming, and rugby, including photographs of the 1936 Bermuda Rugby Week competition; a Bermuda Islands court summons issued to “Joseph Kennedy” and dated March 30, 1936; and telegrams sent to Joe, Jr., for his birthday. Kennedy family members and friends pictured in photographs and clippings include Joseph, Sr.; Rose; John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald; John F. Kennedy; Rosemary Kennedy; Kathleen Kennedy; Eunice Kennedy; Patricia Kennedy; Robert F. Kennedy; Jean Kennedy; Edward M. Kennedy; Kirk LeMoyne “Lem” Billings; nanny to the Kennedy children, Katherine Conboy; Edward E. Moore and Mary Moore; Sir James Calder; and economist Harold Laski. Handwritten captions and inscriptions are written in blue and black ink on many of the leaves. This scrapbook contains 224 photographic prints (including three tintypes), 53 newspaper and magazine clippings, and 36 photographic postcards, as well as telegrams, letters, invitations, menus, tickets, picture postcards, calling cards, and other types of printed ephemera.