Description
Inscribed by John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, the grandfather of President John F. Kennedy, the Fourth of July Oration delivered in Boston by the Hon. John Fitzgerald.
Octavo, 40pp. Full blue morocco, title in gilt on cover, gilt dentelle, marbled endpapers. Text block reinforced with Japanese tissue at half title. Light rubbing to tips. All edges gilt.
Inscribed on the second free endpaper: “To Mrs. Josephine Morgan, In reading over this oration I would not change a line particularly on immigration. Where would we be in the recent struggle if it were not for the immigrant stock which furnished millions to our Army and Navy. Sincerely, John F. Fitzgerald, Jan’y 21st, 1947.”
John “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald (1863-1950) was the mayor of Boston and grandfather of President John F. Kennedy. Fitzgerald served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1895-1901, and twice as the mayor of Boston from 1906-1908, and again from 1910-1914. Fitzgerald ran for the Senate in 1916, but lost to Henry Cabot Lodge. His marriage to Mary Josephine Hannon produced six children, including Rose Fitzgerald, who would go on to marry Joseph P. Kennedy and give birth to President John F. Kennedy, cementing the Fitzgerald-Kennedy legacy in American political history. When John F. Kennedy decided to run for Congress, his grandfather helped to develop his campaign strategy. At his victory rally, Fitzgerald predicted that someday his grandson would occupy the White House.
