Jacqueline Kennedy\\\'s Rare Autograph

Jacqueline Kennedy's rare autograph is one of the most coveted of first ladies.  Jacqueline was one of America's most glamorous and mysterious first ladies.  Her father, John "Blackjack" Bouvier adored her.

Unlike many of her predecessors, Jacqueline almost never replied to autograph requests sent through the mail and almost always refused to sign autographs in person.  As a result, truly authentic material with her autograph is scarce.  Just like her first husband, Jacqueline relied on secretaries to sign correspondence for her and manufactured facsimile signatures by the use of autopens made famous by John Kennedy.  Much of the Jacqueline's autographed material has come from letters that she wrote family and friends.  Many letters to family and friends were signed "Jackie" or simply "J".  After her marriage to Aristotle Onassis, Jacqueline signed her letters as "J.O."

Many signed photographs of her and John Kennedy were sent to admirers while she was first lady with secretarial or autopen signatures.  One of her many secretaries, Letitia Baldridge, were particularly skillful at duplicating Jacqueline's signature.   Autograph collectors often confuse a Jacqueline Kennedy facsimile-signed photograph as having an authentic signature.

On occasion, letters from her work as associate editor for Doubleday book publishers comes available on the autograph marketplace.  Signed receipts from her many shopping visits to stores on Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue have also come available to collectors.  Another source of her authentic autograph is on a book she co-authored with her sister, Lee Radziwill, entitled One Special Summer.  The publication of this book was limited to 500 copies that were signed with her maiden name "Jacqueline Bouvier".

Jacqueline Kennedy's rare autograph has appeared on White House cards and personal checks.  Only one of her signed personal checks has been seen in the market in the past twenty-five years.  That check was a Christmas bonus to her long-time hairdresser from a prestigious salon in Manhattan.   The check is signed with her full name: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.  Curiously, Jackie chose to autograph this personal check to her hairdresser with a red pen.  This check is shown in the book Money Secrets of the Rich and Famous.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was one of the youngest first ladies in the history of America.  She has always remained a celebrity of public interest and the popular demand for her autograph attests to her lasting fame.

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