JFK's "Ask Not" Official W.H. Contemporary Inaugural Address Press Release w/ 13 Kennedy-Era Autographs
John F. Kennedy
Washington DC, January 20, 1961
JFK's "Ask Not" Official W.H. Contemporary Inaugural Address Press Release w/ 13 Kennedy-Era Autographs
Archive
An extensive John F. Kennedy administration autograph and presidential ephemera collection, highlighted by a White House press release of Kennedy's January 20, 1961 Inaugural Address containing one of the most recognizable passages in modern American presidential rhetoric: "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." The three-page document is headed "RELEASE 12 NOON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1961 / TO ALL NEWSPAPERS, RADIO AND TV STATIONS," followed by "OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY" and "INAUGURAL ADDRESS / PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY / AS ACTUALLY DELIVERED." A signature which we feel is secretarial appears prominently on the first page. The document shows expected age toning, original horizontal folds, and scattered handling and edge wear.
The provenance of the inaugural text is documented by an accompanying March 15, 1963 White House TLS signed by Kennedy's personal secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and addressed to Leslie Logan. Lincoln thanks Logan for his letter to Kennedy following the second anniversary of the inauguration and writes, "In response to your request, I am happy to send you a copy of the President's Inaugural Address which has been autographed." She signs the letter in blue ink above her printed name and title, "Personal Secretary to the President." This correspondence establishes that the inaugural text was sent directly from the Kennedy White House to Logan in 1963, while the signature appearing on the speech is identified as secretarial. The Inaugural Address measures 8.5" x 14".
The collection is further enriched by signatures from a broad cross-section of prominent Kennedy-era government officials and public figures. Included are Pierre Salinger on a White House card; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover; General Maxwell D. Taylor on a White House card; Postmaster General J. Edward Day; Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall; Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges; Arthur J. Goldberg, who served as Secretary of Labor before his appointment to the Supreme Court; Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon; Speaker of the House John W. McCormack on "The Speaker's Rooms" stationery, inscribed and dated January 23, 1962; Judge Sarah T. Hughes on a Kennedy memorial philatelic cover; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara on a signed photograph; and Adlai E. Stevenson II on a card reflecting his service as United States Representative to the United Nations.
Kennedy delivered the address after taking the presidential oath on January 20, 1961. Near its conclusion, he shifted from the international challenges of the Cold War to an appeal for individual service and sacrifice, culminating in the "ask not" passage. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library describes this portion as among the speech's most memorable and enduring passages and notes that Kennedy used it to call Americans toward service and sacrifice. The rhetorical construction is especially striking on the present third page: after declaring that only a few generations are given the responsibility of defending freedom "in its hour of maximum danger," Kennedy moves directly toward his appeal to the American people and then extends the same formulation to an international audience.
The presence of that passage in an "AS ACTUALLY DELIVERED" White House press copy gives the document particular historical resonance. Rather than merely commemorating Kennedy's presidency, it preserves in contemporary White House form the words that became inseparable from his inaugural address and his broader call to public service. The accompanying Evelyn Lincoln letter adds an unusually personal documentary connection: two years after the inauguration, the White House sent this copy to Leslie Logan at his request, creating a di
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John F. Kennedy
Washington DC, January 20, 1961
JFK's "Ask Not" Official W.H. Contemporary Inaugural Address Press Release w/ 13 Kennedy-Era Autographs
Archive
An extensive John F. Kennedy administration autograph and presidential ephemera collection, highlighted by a White House press release of Kennedy's January 20, 1961 Inaugural Address containing one of the most recognizable passages in modern American presidential rhetoric: "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country." The three-page document is headed "RELEASE 12 NOON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1961 / TO ALL NEWSPAPERS, RADIO AND TV STATIONS," followed by "OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY" and "INAUGURAL ADDRESS / PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY / AS ACTUALLY DELIVERED." A signature which we feel is secretarial appears prominently on the first page. The document shows expected age toning, original horizontal folds, and scattered handling and edge wear.
The provenance of the inaugural text is documented by an accompanying March 15, 1963 White House TLS signed by Kennedy's personal secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, and addressed to Leslie Logan. Lincoln thanks Logan for his letter to Kennedy following the second anniversary of the inauguration and writes, "In response to your request, I am happy to send you a copy of the President's Inaugural Address which has been autographed." She signs the letter in blue ink above her printed name and title, "Personal Secretary to the President." This correspondence establishes that the inaugural text was sent directly from the Kennedy White House to Logan in 1963, while the signature appearing on the speech is identified as secretarial. The Inaugural Address measures 8.5" x 14".
The collection is further enriched by signatures from a broad cross-section of prominent Kennedy-era government officials and public figures. Included are Pierre Salinger on a White House card; Secretary of State Dean Rusk; FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover; General Maxwell D. Taylor on a White House card; Postmaster General J. Edward Day; Secretary of the Interior Stewart L. Udall; Secretary of Commerce Luther H. Hodges; Arthur J. Goldberg, who served as Secretary of Labor before his appointment to the Supreme Court; Secretary of the Treasury C. Douglas Dillon; Speaker of the House John W. McCormack on "The Speaker's Rooms" stationery, inscribed and dated January 23, 1962; Judge Sarah T. Hughes on a Kennedy memorial philatelic cover; Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara on a signed photograph; and Adlai E. Stevenson II on a card reflecting his service as United States Representative to the United Nations.
Kennedy delivered the address after taking the presidential oath on January 20, 1961. Near its conclusion, he shifted from the international challenges of the Cold War to an appeal for individual service and sacrifice, culminating in the "ask not" passage. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library describes this portion as among the speech's most memorable and enduring passages and notes that Kennedy used it to call Americans toward service and sacrifice. The rhetorical construction is especially striking on the present third page: after declaring that only a few generations are given the responsibility of defending freedom "in its hour of maximum danger," Kennedy moves directly toward his appeal to the American people and then extends the same formulation to an international audience.
The presence of that passage in an "AS ACTUALLY DELIVERED" White House press copy gives the document particular historical resonance. Rather than merely commemorating Kennedy's presidency, it preserves in contemporary White House form the words that became inseparable from his inaugural address and his broader call to public service. The accompanying Evelyn Lincoln letter adds an unusually personal documentary connection: two years after the inauguration, the White House sent this copy to Leslie Logan at his request, creating a di
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
