Beverly Man Inspired By JFK As A Teen, Buys His Diary For $718,750
BEVERLY (CBS) - The Beverly man who paid more than $700,000 for a diary kept by John F. Kennedy says he admired JFK since meeting him as a teenager.
"A couple things that really struck me: Extremely piercing blue eyes that were not captured by any kind of photograph or video or anything like that," Alsop said.
Joseph Alsop outbid seven other people at the Boston-based RR Auction to obtain the 61-page diary for $718,750, far exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $200,000.
The diary was kept by JFK during his brief stint as a journalist after World War II. In it, he reflected on Hitler and the weakness of the United Nations.
"He was able to accompany Eisenhower, then a general, and President Truman to the Potsdam conference; go through Berlin and see the devastation," Alsop said.
Kennedy gave the diary to Deirdre Henderson, a research assistant in his campaign office in the late 1950s who now lives in the Boston area. Henderson said she put the diary up for sale so it can be properly preserved. Alsop says he plans to do just that.
"It's very cool. It makes me very happy and very proud," Alsop said.