Copies of private letters from Jackie Kennedy to priest Fr Joseph Leonard have been handed to an Irish court following legal proceedings that have erupted over the pending auction of the correspondence next month.
Owen Felix O’Neill – an expert on rare books – has handed copies of the letters he made to the courts after legal proceedings taken against him by Sheppard’s Irish Auction House who are moving to restrain Mr O’Neill holding himself out as the owner or seller of the letters or passing on any copies or extracts to third parties.
Sheppard’s is concerned that photos of some of the letters had been published in the Boston Globe and described Mr O’Neill as procurer of the letters, a description which was “wholly untrue”, the auction houses Philip Sheppard said.
According to the Irish Times Mr O’Neill “strongly disputes” many of the assertions made to the court last week, counsel said.
Sheppard’s has been engaged by All Hallows College – the school where the former priest lived and where the letters remained after his death – to sell the letters after the collage cited a lack of resources to adequately preserve the 33 private letters.
Sheppard’s allege that any copies made by O’Neill – letters from Jackie to the Leonard spanning 14 years – could devalue the archive which is expected to fetch bids between €800,000 and €3 million.
According to the New York Daily News in her communication with the religious leader Jackie Kennedy admits to being “bitter against God” in 1963 following the death of her premature son, Patrick, and writes of her frustration with understanding God’s will in the aftermath of JFK’s assassination.
“I feel more cruelly every day what I have lost — I always would have rather lost my life than lost Jack. I have to think there is a God — or I have no hope of finding Jack again,” she writes.
“God will have a bit of explaining to do to me if I ever see him,” she added.
The Irish Times reports Mr O’Neill’s representative council, Sara Moorehead said her client had made copies of the letters on a computer at the college on which he scanned the material had been wiped he had no other copies of the material in his possession and was prepared to adhere to the injunctions.
The Irish Times also reported that the judge presiding over the matter, Justice Peter Kelly, would grant the orders requested by Sheppard’s but his decision to do so was not a reflection on the integrity of Mr O’Neill but the judge said he would bind all third parties.
The letters are due to go under the hammer on June 10th but it’s not the first time Jackie’s personal effects have gone to auction.
In 1996 – two years after her mother’s death – Caroline Kennedy put a collection of her family’s memorabilia under the hammer at Sotheby’s.
The New York Post reported that among the jewels and art was JFK’s hatbox, worth less than $100 dollars yet sold for $31,625, a foot stool worth $150 sold for $33,350 and one of Jackie’s lamps worth $900, sold for $48,875.
Over the years Jackie’s belongings have prompted auction bids to shift in their thousands – it seems many Kennedy collectors see precious value in the former First Ladies everyday items that are fast becoming relics of a historically powerful family dynasty.
Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy during a TV appearance in November 1962.
Jacqueline Kennedy’s triple-strand simulated pearl necklace – worn by Mrs Kennedy while in residence at the White House and on a state visit to Columbia – sold for $53, 976 at auction in 1996.
.jpg?fit=650%2C896&resize=650%2C896)
Jacqueline Kennedy’s pair of simulated pearl and diamond earclips sold in 1996 for $28,063.
President John F. Kennedy’s golf clubs were purchased at auction by Arnold Schwarzenegger for $772,500, or 858 times the estimate. At the time Schwarzenegger was married to JFK’s niece, Maria Shriver.
At the famous 1996 New York Auction of Jacqueline Kennedy’s possessions, two Kennedy rockers were sold, one for $442,500, and one for $453,500.
Maria Shriver, daughter of JFK’s sister Eunice, is rumoured to have been the mystery bidder who purchased a 1923 diary written by family matriarch, Rose Kennedy, for $27,500 which was more than double the suggested price of $10,000-$12,000. Shriver is also rumoured to have bought her mother’s photo album which sold for $14,000, far above the $2,000 minimum.
Related stories
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
Native ad body.
