On Nov. 21, 1963, President John F. Kennedy sat in the Rice Hotel in Houston, Texas, scribbling on a piece of paper.
Almost 61 years later, the relic of the last evening of JFK’s life fetched $34,504 in a recent auction, according to the Washington Examiner.
“Kennedy’s handwriting remains highly coveted by presidential collectors, with examples deriving from his last night alive being part of an elusive and ever-shrinking group,” Bobby Livingston, executive vice president of RR Auction, which sold the item in a recent auction held to commemorate JFK’s legacy and 107th birthday, said.
“The document, written in pencil on an off-white sheet, contains various notations likely made during a telephone conversation,” RR Auction said in its description of the item.
“It includes references to the year ‘1963,’ numerical notes like ‘10 thousand tons’ and ‘50 or 60%,’ a noted time of ‘11:45,’ and the surname ‘Smith’ mentioned twice — possibly referring to Stephen E. Smith, Kennedy’s brother-in-law and campaign strategist,” the description of the item said.
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“The page also showcases Kennedy’s familiar doodles, including underlines, boxes, and an arrow,” the description said.
The Fine Book and Magazines website said that JFK spent about three-and-a-half hours at Houston’s Rice Hotel, where he attended a League of United Latin American Citizens Councils event.
Kennedy later left the hotel to attend another event and then went to the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth for the night.
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas the next day.
Was JFK a good Democratic president?
Other Kennedy-related items sold at the auction included $26,575 paid for Kennedy’s inaugural address book that was presented to the chief of the White House police, the Examiner reported.
A presidential seal flag JFK signed and gave to the commander of the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. fetched $16,643.
Kennedy’s May 29th birthday was marked at Arlington National Cemetery with a wreath-laying ceremony.
One of the last living connections to the assassination passed away recently with the death of Elmer L. “Sonny” Boyd, who was 96, according to the New York Post.
“Elmer was deeply involved in the local Kennedy assassination investigation, searching the Texas School Book Depository for evidence and later leading Lee Harvey Oswald down the hallways of Dallas police headquarters,” the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza posted on Facebook.
Boyd offered his thoughts about Jack Ruby, who killed Oswald, to the Corsicana Daily Sun.
“Jack Ruby thought of himself as a big gangster, but he was just a nightclub owner,” Boyd said. “He wanted to be the hero by killing Oswald, though he said it was to spare Jackie (Kennedy) the trauma of having to come back to Dallas for the trial.”
Boyd said Ruby could not have planned the shooting, because the transfer during which Oswald was killed had been planned for an hour earlier than it took place, at which time Ruby was at a Western Union office.
