East of Eden.

STEINBECK, John [Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis].

$9,800.00

Item Number: 147079

New York: The Viking Press, 1952.

First edition, first issue of Steinbeck’s epic and moving story of a modern Cain and Abel. Octavo, original cloth. From the library of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis with the bookplate from the Sotheby’s 23 – 26 April 1996 sale of the estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to the verso of the front wrapper. In March 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy wrote a three-page letter to Steinbeck asking him to write a book about her husband. She described the pain of reminiscing about her husband and encouraged Steinbeck to make a decision soon. She also said that she and the Kennedy family needed to move on with their lives. Jacqueline Kennedy later said that the letters she and Steinbeck exchanged were very important to her during that difficult time. When John F. Kennedy was sworn in as president on January 20, 1961, 31-year-old Jacqueline Kennedy became the third youngest First Lady in American history. As a presidential couple, the Kennedys differed from the Eisenhowers by their relative youth and their relationship with the media. Historian Gil Troy has noted that in particular, they “emphasized vague appearances rather than specific accomplishments or passionate commitments” and therefore fit in well in the early 1960s’ “cool, TV-oriented culture”. Kennedy’ became a fashion icon during her years in the White House, hiring American designer Oleg Cassini to design her wardrobe. She was the first First Lady to hire a press secretary, Pamela Turnure, and carefully managed her contact with the media, usually shying away from making public statements and strictly controlling the extent to which her children were photographed. Portrayed by the media as the ideal woman, academic Maurine Beasley has stated that Kennedy “created an unrealistic media expectation for first ladies that would challenge her successors.” Nevertheless, by attracting worldwide positive public attention, the First Lady gained allies for the White House and international support for the Kennedy administration and its Cold War policies. Although Kennedy stated that her priority as a First Lady was to take care of the President and their children, she also dedicated her time to the promotion of American arts and preservation of its history. Her main contribution was the restoration of the White House, but she also furthered the cause by hosting social events that brought together elite figures from politics and the arts. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example with noted provenance.

"A novel planned on the grandest possible scale...One of those occasions when a writer has aimed high and then summoned every ounce of energy, talent, seriousness, and passion of which he was capable...It is an entirely interesting and impressive book" (The New York Herald Tribune).