DURROW.- Sheppard’s has been entrusted with selling thirty-three letters written by Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy to Fr Joseph Leonard, a Dublin, Ireland based priest. Written during the key years 1950 – 1964, the unpublished personal correspondence covers seminal events that include her engagement to Senator Kennedy and his assassination in 1963.

Alongside the 33 letters, Sheppard’s will also be offering 21 lots of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy associated correspondence and photographs. Estimates range from €400 to €1.2 million.

Philip Sheppard, Sheppard’s Irish Auction House: “We are thrilled at Sheppard’s to offer what is in effect the unpublished autobiography of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. The collection – comprised mostly of manuscript letters – reveals a fascinating insight into America’s most famous First Lady and are an unique opportunity to acquire Kennedy-related unpublished primary source material that has never before been offered on the open market.”

As one of Ireland's leading auction houses, Sheppard's are specialists in Chinese ceramics and works of art; historical documents, and period pieces of high quality furniture, especially Irish. Sheppard's equally enjoys a reputation for artworks ranging from early eighteenth-century portraits to contemporary paintings. Clients include leading Irish, American, British, and Chinese collectors, and national institutions such as the National Library of Ireland and the National Museum of Ireland.