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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-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-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.