Associated Press, UPI, & Dow Jones Teletype Reports of the John F. Kennedy Assassination
[New York & Dallas]: Associated Press, Dow Jones & Company Inc., UPI, 1963.
Six teletype scrolls from November 22, 1963, printed with financial news from Dow Jones intermingled with breaking news of the Kennedy assassination and its immediate aftermath from the Associated Press & UPI. Printed in blue ink, all letters uppercase, on paper 6-1/4 inches wide. One long scroll (approx 12-1/2 feet) combined with five shorter scrolls for a total length of about 21 feet. Fine with light toning and occasional creases and short edge tears. Housed in a custom clamshell case, quarter blue morocco over blue cloth titled in gilt on the spine, with several scuffs to cloth and shallow abrasion to interior.
A stunning primary document of one of the most cataclysmic events in American history. The first scroll begins:
President Kennedy Shot
Dallas -AP- President Kennedy was shot today just as his motorcade left downtown Dallas - Mrs Kennedy jumped up and grabbed Mr Kennedy - She cried Oh No - The motorcade spedb [sic] on...Pandemonium broke loose around the scene
Pandemonium broke loose nationwide, as revealed by the bursts of information transmitted across the wire in the three and half hours following the shooting. Governor John Connally had been shot in the chest, both men were at the hospital, and their wives appeared stunned but unharmed. The stock market was temporarily suspended, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered an all-out investigation, and two priests were summoned to Kennedy's bedside. Then comes the news:
Add - Kennedy Dead / Washn -AP- Government sources said today that President Kennedy is dead
Add - Kennedy dragnet / Dallas -AP- The FBI began a search for a white man about 30 years of age of slender build and weighing about 165 pounds - He is believed to be the gunman / Police believed he had fired on the presidential party with a 30-30 rifle
Reports on the political fallout and actions of the First Lady and Vice President follow. Telephone service in the nation's capital collapsed as the onslaught of phone calls overloaded the system. More details about Kennedy's medical treatment were released, and the latest results of the police investigation in Dallas. Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as President, Canada expressed its condolences, and Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested:
Oswald was pulled screaming and yelling from the Texas Theater in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas - He brandished a pistol which officers took away from him after a scuffle / Police had to hold back crowds that quickly congregated because many apparently connected the arrested man with the slaying of the President
The last scroll ends at 4:59 PM Eastern Time. Lee Harvey Oswald had been confirmed as the primary suspect, preparations for Kennedy's funeral were underway, and -- saved for last -- the Harvard-Yale game had been postponed. The President had been dead for three hours.
A rare and valuable record conveying the the urgency and confusion of the unfolding situation.
Price: $15,000