KENNEDY, John F. (1917-1963). Letter signed ("Jack") to "the Members of the Class [of 1940]," [Cambridge,] 27 December 1945.

Organizing a reunion of the Harvard class of 1940. An early example of Kennedy's signature on a printed circular letter to the members of his graduating class, written in his typical irreverent style. Working up to the inevitable appeal for donations, he writes, "There is, as usual, the question of money. Our Class fund has to its credit about $1300, invested in war bonds, which our canny Treasurer, Donald MacDonald Dickinson Thurber, thinks is the best buy since Ponzi. McThurber, who we understand votes Republican in the Michigan elections, feels we should hold them until maturity. There are those who say that the money should be used to buy real estate in Nevada suitable for building a large underground cellar capable of holding 972 men of Harvard. This will be voted on in June."

[With:] The Album of 1940 Being the Fifty-First Volume in the Class album series at Harvard College. Cambridge: The Harvard Album Board for 1940, 1940. Quarto (344 x 273 mm). (Boards rubbed and scuffed). Kennedy's portrait and biography appears on page 204, and appears additionally on page 154 (the Yacht Club) and on page 162 (as a member of the Permanent Class Committee).