NYT/AP: Sotheby's Auctioning Martin Luther King Papers

Sotheby's Auctioning King Papers
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 8, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- For years, Sotheby's auction house has tried to sell the papers, manuscripts and personal library of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

But previous negotiations with various institutions came to naught, including a private sale in 2003 that was called off. Now, on June 30, Sotheby's will auction the King collection, hoping that an institution will step forward and pay from $15 million to $30 million for the lot of more than 10,000 items.

''It does set a challenge for American institutions to decide whether or not they want to save and preserve the King legacy for prosperity,'' David Redden, Sotheby's vice chairman, told The Associated Press Wednesday night. ''This is a very important story that needs a very appropriate conclusion.''...

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The money will go to the financially strapped King estate. Redden said the death of Coretta Scott King earlier this year helped speed up the decision to hold an auction.

''To be candid,'' Redden said, ''the passing of Mrs. King did require that the estate put their affairs in order.''...

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-Art-King-Papers.html