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JFK diary written in post-WWII Europe sells for $718,000

BOSTON — A diary kept by a young John F. Kennedy during his brief stint as a journalist after World War II in which he reflected on Hitler and the weakness of the United Nations sold for more than $700,000 on Wednesday.

Boston-based RR Auction said the diary sold for $718,750, far exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $200,000. Joseph Alsop, a JFK collector from Beverly, outbid one other live and six telephone bidders in a packed house for the 61-page diary. Alsop, 71, plans to add it to his personal collection, auction officials said.

The diary is mostly typed but includes 12 handwritten pages. It was written in 1945 when the 28-year-old Kennedy was a correspondent for Hearst newspapers and traveled through a devastated Europe.

Executive Vice President Bobby Livingston said the auction was thrilling, with bidders from around the country vying for the personal observations of the man who’d become president.

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