Beschreibung:

KENNEDY, John F. Profiles in Courage . New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961. 8 o . Original quarter cloth (very light wear at ends of spine); printed dust jacket (light soiling, small ink smudge and partial fingerprint on front panel [see below]). [With:] LINCOLN, Evelyn. Typed letter signed, 24 October 1965. 1 page, 4to . Describing the circumstances of the book's signing. PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED ONE DAY AFTER KENNEDY'S INAUGURATION TO CHICAGO MAYOR RICHARD J. DALEY. Kennedy has boldly written on the front flyleaf: "To Mayor and Mrs. Daley--with the very warmest regards of their friend John F Kennedy 21 January 1961." In the accompanying letter Kennedy's secretary Evelyn Lincoln explains that "President Kennedy...accidently smudged the front cover with ink from his finger. He autographed another copy for Mayor Daley...I felt it was historically important to save this momento...When Mayor Daley...visited the White house on January 21, 1961, President Kennedy asked him what he could do for him, expecting him to ask a political favor, Mayor Daley replied that he would like to have his photograph taken with him and his family and a signed copy of President Kennedy's book." Daley (1902-1976), the longtime mayor of Chicago, headed one of the most powerful political machines ever created. When Kennedy carried the state of Illinois in the 1860 election by a perilously thin margin of only 9,000 votes, there were unconfirmed rumors that Daley's Democratic machine had stuffed ballot-boxes in Cook County in order to ensure Kennedy's victory. (2)