SIGNED BY ROBERT F. KENNEDY, NOVEMBER 1964 LETTER TO DR. JANET TRAVELL, PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S PERSONAL PHYSICIAN, REGARDING A MEMORIAL MASS FOR JFK

KENNEDY, Robert. Typed letter signed. Washington, D.C., November 16, 1964. Single ivory leaf (7 by 9 inches) in typescript and signed on the recto. $1500.

November 16, 1964 typed letter signed by Robert F. Kennedy to Dr. Janet Travell, who was President Kennedy's personal physician and remained at the White House after his assassination, telling her of an upcoming memorial Mass on November 22, the one-year anniversary of JFK's assassination. Dr. Travell is noted for her pioneering medical work as well as her "lasting contribution to Presidential folklore" in urging JFK to use his rocking chair to ease back pain.

The recipient of this letter signed by Robert Kennedy is Dr. Janet Travell, who was President Kennedy's personal physician. It reads: "November 16, 1964. Dear Dr. Travell. On November 22 at 9:00 AM, Mass will be celebrated at St. Matthews Cathedral, Washington, in memory of President Kennedy. I wanted you to know in case you might like to attend. Sincerely, [signed] Bob [typescript] Robert F. Kennedy. Dr. Janet Travell The White House Washington, D.C." Dr. Travell was "the first woman to be personal physician to a President… The President had been relying on her since 1955, when she saw the Senator from Massachusetts after the second operation on his back… But Dr. Travell's lasting contribution to Presidential folklore (if not her main one to medicine) was the popularity of the rocking chair. She believed that a rocking chair alleviated lower-back tension by keeping the muscles moving, contracting and relaxing. Throughout his brief Presidency, Kennedy's oak rocker with a cane seat was a familiar sight to White House photographers and, consequently, the public… Dr. Travell stayed at the White House after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, treating President Johnson as well as other members of the Kennedy family" (New York Times). Faint inkstamp at upper right corner: "Nov 20 1964," indicating the date of the letter's receipt.

Text and signature clean and bold, only faint foldlines. Fine.