JFK auction outstrips expectation

The decision to sell the items was taken by JFK's daughter Caroline

A three-day auction of possessions of John F Kennedy ended with sales totalling $5.5m (£2.9m) - more than five times the original estimate.

Some of the 600 lots, including banal household items, fetched as much as 70 times their starting price - proof of the enduring appeal for the Kennedys.

A desk, inlaid with the JFK initials - initially set at $7,000 ($3,700) - was the top bid at $452,800 (£238,900).

Part of the proceeds will go to the JFK library foundation and charities.

Other items included a portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy with the couple's children Caroline and John F Jr. It went for $216,000 (£113,000), having been set at $10,000 (£5,300).

An oak rocking chair that belonged to the late president sold for $96,000 (£50,700), almost 20 times its estimate.

Brisk bidding

A monogrammed red wool blanket sold for $18,000.

The auction house Sotheby's said it had been surprised by the brisk bidding on the first day of the auction held in New York.

The auction was of personal possessions from the Hyannis Port residence and four other homes purchased by Jackie Kennedy after her husband's assassination in November, 1963.

The decision to hold the auction was taken by the last surviving member of JFK's immediate family, his daughter Caroline.

She said that following the death of her brother John Kennedy Jr, she was left with more possessions than one person could possibly enjoy.