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<b>Bonhams:</b> MANDELSHTAM, OSIP. 1891-1938. Autograph Manuscript, 2 pp, [Petersburg,] January 1913, entitled

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A Tale of Two Auctions: One Completed, One Cancelled - By Michael Stillman The Martin Luther King auction at Sotheby's was cancelled after the collection was sold privately. By Michael Stillman One of the most important book auctions of the year took place June 27 and 28 at Christie's in New York, and the prices garnered will bring nothing but joy to those who own important volumes. Offered was the Cornelius J. Hauck "History of the Book" Collection owned by the Cincinnati Museum Center. Christie's placed an overall estimate of just over $4.5 million on the collection, but when the final hammer came down, it had taken in almost three times the estimate, $12,401,780. Any fears that the high end of the book market might be experiencing some caution were quickly put to rest. Top material continues to bring high and growing prices. Cornelius Hauck had contributed his "History of the Book" collection and other material to the Cincinnati Museum in 1966. This truly was an historic and diverse collection. It contained everything from Babylonian cuneiform tablets to Greek papyrus fragments, Persian, Asian, European and Hebrew manuscripts, fine bindings, and more. However, the Cincinnati museum did not find itself to be an ideal holder for this magnificent collection. Exhibitions over the years were limited, and the directors, with the support of Hauck's son, decided to put it up for sale, believing the works would end up in more fitting hands. Proceeds will be used to fund the maintenance and purchase of collections more suitable to the museum's mission. In a press release, Francis Wahlgren, Christie's Head of the Books and Manuscripts Department in New York, was quoted as saying, "Not in very many years have we felt such electricity in the air during a book auction. The Hauck sale gives a welcome jolt to the antiquarian market. Amazing prices were seen across the board of this highly varied collection, not only for the top lots, but also at the lower end of the market. No less striking was the crucial European participation, both English and Continental. The record price of the Hainhofer Album Amicorum was the result of determined bidding from both sides of the Atlantic." The Hainhofer album, an illuminated manuscript on vellum and paper in German, Italian, Latin and French, from 1596-1633, brought in $2,368,000 against an estimate of $600,000-$800,000. The buyer was not revealed. However, the remaining top ten highest prices were distributed among trade and private buyers from the U.S., U.K. and Europe. The second highest priced item was a Hebrew Passover Haggadah from 1725, sold for $408,000 against an estimate of $100,000-$150,000. Next was a 17th century illuminated Persian work, sold for $329,600 against an estimate of $60,000-$80,000.
A Tale of Two Auctions: One Completed, One Cancelled - By Michael Stillman Draft of Dr. King's Nobel acceptance speech and other items from Sotheby's catalogue. The museum's President and CEO, Douglass McDonald, was quoted as saying, "Cincinnati Museum Center is extremely pleased with the results of the sales these past two days." Well they should be. This was a spectacularly successful sale, one that bodes well for the museum's other projects, and for other collectors with books coming up for sale in the near future. The market continues to look strong. Meanwhile, down the street at Sotheby's, an even more important auction was scheduled to take place on June 30th, but this one never happened. In a surprising turn of events, the entire collection was sold together to one buyer a week before the floor was supposed to be open for bids. There were evidently some seriously disappointed potential bidders, though most people were happy to see this auction end the way it did. This auction consisted of a huge collection of papers of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An astonishing 10,000-plus manuscripts and books, including over 7,000 in Dr, King's hand, were scheduled to be sold to a single bidder on June 30. Among the items in this collection are an early draft of his famous "I have a dream" speech, his Nobel Prize speech, and papers ranging from Dr. King's 1946 college examination on the Bible to those he was working on just prior to his assassination in 1968. The college test was written in one of those infamous 8-page "blue books" that generations of college students filled with fear and trepidation at examination time. Correspondence from major political figures of the day is contained in the collection, including figures such as John and Robert Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey and Nelson Rockefeller. Drafts of virtually all of his major speeches are said to be among the papers. Other items are of a more personal nature, including a rejection letter for his son's application to a private school, perhaps a reflection of the prejudice of the day, and cancelled checks and credit card receipts. A box containing nearly 100 of King's sermons, primarily from the 1950s, is included, as is a draft of the "Drum Major Instinct," one of his last speeches in which Dr. King alludes to his growing opposition to the Vietnam War. There are notes he wrote in 1963 in preparation for an article he penned for New York's Amsterdam News concerning the assassination of President Kennedy. Approximately 1,000 books from King's personal library, many with author inscriptions, others with King's personal notes, are contained in the collection, including 50 by or about Mahatma Gandhi, King's inspiration in nonviolence. The King family had required that all of the pieces be sold as one to assure the collection remained together.
A Tale of Two Auctions: One Completed, One Cancelled - By Michael Stillman none Apparently, the Kings had been looking for a single buyer for quite awhile, but potential purchasers had been reticent to come up with the asking price. If so, the planned auction seemed to have removed their reluctance. No price was announced, but rumors are the buyer, King's alma mater, Atlanta's Morehouse College, offered $32 million. Sotheby's estimate was $15-$30 million. Among those institutions rumored to be considering or planning to bid were the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, Duke University, the New York Public Library, the University of Texas, the Gilder Lehrman Institute in New York, and Boston University, where King earned a doctorate and which currently houses many of his papers. However, as a result of Morehouse's offer, the collection will remain in King's hometown of Atlanta. While the source for Morehouse's funds was not announced, reports are that numerous local businesses and philanthropists pledged funds to support the purchase, while a bank provided the loan to close the sale while funds are being raised. Even some outside businesses, such as Wal-Mart, are said to have contributed to the cause. In a news release, Sotheby's Vice-Chairman David Redden was quoted as saying, "Sotheby's is thrilled that the papers of Dr. King, one of the greatest world leaders, are going to the city he called home." Dr. King's son Dexter King is also quoted as saying, "This is a wonderful outcome for this collection. I know my mother would have been happy to see the collection housed permanently in Atlanta, which always meant so much to her and to our family." This is one auction that, despite never taking place, still managed to have a happy ending.

A Tale of Two Auctions: One Completed, One Cancelled

- By Michael Stillman

The Martin Luther King auction at Sotheby's was cancelled after the collection was sold privately.

By Michael Stillman

One of the most important book auctions of the year took place June 27 and 28 at Christie's in New York, and the prices garnered will bring nothing but joy to those who own important volumes. Offered was the Cornelius J. Hauck "History of the Book" Collection owned by the Cincinnati Museum Center. Christie's placed an overall estimate of just over $4.5 million on the collection, but when the final hammer came down, it had taken in almost three times the estimate, $12,401,780. Any fears that the high end of the book market might be experiencing some caution were quickly put to rest. Top material continues to bring high and growing prices.

Cornelius Hauck had contributed his "History of the Book" collection and other material to the Cincinnati Museum in 1966. This truly was an historic and diverse collection. It contained everything from Babylonian cuneiform tablets to Greek papyrus fragments, Persian, Asian, European and Hebrew manuscripts, fine bindings, and more. However, the Cincinnati museum did not find itself to be an ideal holder for this magnificent collection. Exhibitions over the years were limited, and the directors, with the support of Hauck's son, decided to put it up for sale, believing the works would end up in more fitting hands. Proceeds will be used to fund the maintenance and purchase of collections more suitable to the museum's mission.

In a press release, Francis Wahlgren, Christie's Head of the Books and Manuscripts Department in New York, was quoted as saying,

"Not in very many years have we felt such electricity in the air during a book auction. The Hauck sale gives a welcome jolt to the antiquarian market. Amazing prices were seen across the board of this highly varied collection, not only for the top lots, but also at the lower end of the market. No less striking was the crucial European participation, both English and Continental. The record price of the Hainhofer Album Amicorum was the result of determined bidding from both sides of the Atlantic."

The Hainhofer album, an illuminated manuscript on vellum and paper in German, Italian, Latin and French, from 1596-1633, brought in $2,368,000 against an estimate of $600,000-$800,000. The buyer was not revealed. However, the remaining top ten highest prices were distributed among trade and private buyers from the U.S., U.K. and Europe. The second highest priced item was a Hebrew Passover Haggadah from 1725, sold for $408,000 against an estimate of $100,000-$150,000. Next was a 17th century illuminated Persian work, sold for $329,600 against an estimate of $60,000-$80,000.

A Tale of Two Auctions: One Completed, One Cancelled

- By Michael Stillman

Draft of Dr. King's Nobel acceptance speech and other items from Sotheby's catalogue.

The museum's President and CEO, Douglass McDonald, was quoted as saying,

"Cincinnati Museum Center is extremely pleased with the results of the sales these past two days."

Well they should be. This was a spectacularly successful sale, one that bodes well for the museum's other projects, and for other collectors with books coming up for sale in the near future. The market continues to look strong.

Meanwhile, down the street at Sotheby's, an even more important auction was scheduled to take place on June 30th, but this one never happened. In a surprising turn of events, the entire collection was sold together to one buyer a week before the floor was supposed to be open for bids. There were evidently some seriously disappointed potential bidders, though most people were happy to see this auction end the way it did.

This auction consisted of a huge collection of papers of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. An astonishing 10,000-plus manuscripts and books, including over 7,000 in Dr, King's hand, were scheduled to be sold to a single bidder on June 30. Among the items in this collection are an early draft of his famous "I have a dream" speech, his Nobel Prize speech, and papers ranging from Dr. King's 1946 college examination on the Bible to those he was working on just prior to his assassination in 1968. The college test was written in one of those infamous 8-page "blue books" that generations of college students filled with fear and trepidation at examination time. Correspondence from major political figures of the day is contained in the collection, including figures such as John and Robert Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey and Nelson Rockefeller. Drafts of virtually all of his major speeches are said to be among the papers. Other items are of a more personal nature, including a rejection letter for his son's application to a private school, perhaps a reflection of the prejudice of the day, and cancelled checks and credit card receipts. A box containing nearly 100 of King's sermons, primarily from the 1950s, is included, as is a draft of the "Drum Major Instinct," one of his last speeches in which Dr. King alludes to his growing opposition to the Vietnam War. There are notes he wrote in 1963 in preparation for an article he penned for New York's Amsterdam News concerning the assassination of President Kennedy. Approximately 1,000 books from King's personal library, many with author inscriptions, others with King's personal notes, are contained in the collection, including 50 by or about Mahatma Gandhi, King's inspiration in nonviolence. The King family had required that all of the pieces be sold as one to assure the collection remained together.

A Tale of Two Auctions: One Completed, One Cancelled

- By Michael Stillman

none

Apparently, the Kings had been looking for a single buyer for quite awhile, but potential purchasers had been reticent to come up with the asking price. If so, the planned auction seemed to have removed their reluctance. No price was announced, but rumors are the buyer, King's alma mater, Atlanta's Morehouse College, offered $32 million. Sotheby's estimate was $15-$30 million. Among those institutions rumored to be considering or planning to bid were the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, Duke University, the New York Public Library, the University of Texas, the Gilder Lehrman Institute in New York, and Boston University, where King earned a doctorate and which currently houses many of his papers. However, as a result of Morehouse's offer, the collection will remain in King's hometown of Atlanta. While the source for Morehouse's funds was not announced, reports are that numerous local businesses and philanthropists pledged funds to support the purchase, while a bank provided the loan to close the sale while funds are being raised. Even some outside businesses, such as Wal-Mart, are said to have contributed to the cause.

In a news release, Sotheby's Vice-Chairman David Redden was quoted as saying, "Sotheby's is thrilled that the papers of Dr. King, one of the greatest world leaders, are going to the city he called home." Dr. King's son Dexter King is also quoted as saying, "This is a wonderful outcome for this collection. I know my mother would have been happy to see the collection housed permanently in Atlanta, which always meant so much to her and to our family." This is one auction that, despite never taking place, still managed to have a happy ending.