SOUTH GLASTONBURY, CONN. — The May 6 Connecticut River Book Auction offered collectors of John F. Kennedy material an opportunity to obtain an inscribed copy of Profiles in Courage, a later printing, which surpassed its reserve of $2,000 to sell for $2,645, including buyer’s premium.

The volume came with an amusing backstory. The year is 1959 and JFK is testing the political waters by crisscrossing the United States meeting and speaking to numerous groups of citizens. He has two advantages over those who also seek the nomination of the Democratic party for the presidency of the United States. Not only does he project a handsome and youthful persona but he is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning author for the 1957 book Profiles in Courage. This, his second publication, provided Kennedy with a ready-made platform to speak of defining moments past and project what courage meant going forward in a time of cold war tensions, racial strife and uncertain economic times. On the day this book was signed, Kennedy was in Ohio speaking at the Cleveland Women’s Book Club luncheon. As with nearly every appearance he made, his staff insured that copies of Profiles in Courage were available for purchase, and Kennedy graciously signed them. When Henry Maier approached Kennedy, he recalled JFK bursting into laughter and while boldly signing his book asked Maier how it felt to be the only other male at the event surrounded by so many lovely ladies. A further review of this sale will follow.