Folder of 25 Previously Unknown Documents Pertaining To Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., To Be Sold By Gallery 63, April 15

( EMAILWIRE.COM, March 23, 2007 ) Atlanta, Ga. - An unassuming Pendaflex file folder, still green but weathered with age and frayed around the edges, holds a treasure trove of about 25 previously unknown documents pertaining to slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The papers will be offered up as one lot in a sale slated for April 15 by Gallery 63, the consignment arm of auction powerhouse Red Baron.

Contained in the find are first typed drafts of important speeches; letters to and from Dr. King; ephemera from the era; and other papers and documents, all having to do with a man who became synonymous with the civil rights movement in America and who is arguably the most important and recognizable man of the 20th century. All the documents are from the early-to-mid 1960s.

“These papers are Library of Congress stuff. They belong to the people of America – the world, really,” said Paul Brown of Gallery 63. “They need to be archived, in a museum, in a moisture- and light-controlled environment. Ideally, I would like to see them go to a museum, where they can be shared. But I have no control over who the high bidder will be or how much they will offer.”

Until recently, the folder had been stored in the basement of the consignor – an elderly Maryland woman who was an acquaintance of Dr. King's. The two were both involved with an Atlanta radio station, WAOK-AM 1380, at the height of the civil rights movement. Dr. King delivered radio sermons on the station and maintained an office there; the consignor was a financial contributor.

In the mid-1960s, the station was undergoing a difficult time financially and had to borrow money just to remain afloat. The Maryland woman loaned the station some cash, but in lieu of repayment she accepted the documents being offered next month. They have remained in that same Pendaflex folder for the past 40 years in her basement. Few knew of their existence until now.

Included in the trove are the following papers and documents:
• A typed position paper titled “Statement by Martin Luther King, Jr., on New York Race Riots” (3 pages, dated July 27, 1964). One sentence reads, “On the one hand we must vigorously condemn the violence and lawlessness of the Negro community.” Dr. King, in his own hand, drew a line through the word “condemn” and replaced it with “regret.”

• An invitation from the Italian television station Radiotelevisione Italiana, dated August 19, 1964, inviting Dr. King to appear on a future telecast. Dr. King writes in the margin, “For Andy (Andrew Young). Tell them I would be happy to appear...in October or November.” But it never happened; Dr. King had to drop all previously accepted engagements to accept that year's Nobel Peace Prize.

• A letter from a representative of the Berlin Jazz Festival, typed on Newport Jazz Festival '64 stationery and dated July 29, 1964, asking Dr. King to “find a few minutes in your busy day to write a few paragraphs which could serve as a foreword in the program book.” The theme for the festival was “The Negro in the Modern World.” Dr. King complied, scrawling “write forward” at the top of the page, in bold pen. The final, printed version of the introduction accompanies the lot.
• A contributing article by Dr. King to a London newsletter called Peace News. In the typed text, Dr. King writes, “By 2000 AD, 3 million of Britain's 72 million people will be coloured (sic). Like it or not, Britain is a multi-racial society. Unfortunately, the British are proving to be very untalented at assimilation.” The undated newsletter is several pages and addresses several themes.

• An undated and lengthy paper, 24 pages and typed, titled “The Grand Alliance verses the 'White Backlash.'” Dr. King writes, “After one hundred years of suffocation and hopelessness the Negro, in the past decade, was transformed....Years of struggle, blood sacrifice, and the heavy toil of organization were climaxed with a spectacular March on Washington in 1963.”

• A typed address to the S.C.L.C., titled “President's Annual Report” and dated Sep. 29, 1964. Dr. King laments “one of the most brutal acts of this phase of the movement, the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church and the murder of five children.” He adds, “We had not yet recuperated from this harsh reality when the twisted mind of Lee Harvey Oswald struck down our beloved President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.”

• A 14-page speech or position paper titled “The Spirit and the Letter – An Analysis of the Ethical Demands of Integration in the South” (14 pages, typed, on onion skin paper). Dr. King writes, “Our own political destiny and that of the world turns on when and how we resolve the segregation-integration controversy. I suspect the 'when' may now be more pressing than the 'how.' It is my sincere hope that it is not already too late.”

Another trove of papers relating to Dr. King was in the news last year, when it was reported that boxes of documents previously stored in the King family home would be sold at Sotheby's. But Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin led a successful drive to have the collection bought – for $32 million – for Morehouse College in Atlanta. Help came from over 50 corporate, government and private donors.

“Obviously, what we are selling is a much smaller find than what the King family had in their possession, but it is no less important as a piece of American history,” Mr. Brown pointed out. “I can't stress enough the value these papers contain as pages chronicling the civil rights movement. As to their dollar value, I would expect these priceless pieces of history to bring $250,000 or more.”

A media preview and reception will precede the auction, on Thursday evening, April 12th, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm. The King papers will be on view and Mr. Brown will be available to answer press inquiries. “When you have something this important, it's crucial that the media have a chance to see for themselves what is about to change hands. They are literally witnesses to history,” Brown said.

The King papers are not the only lot being offered by Gallery 63 on April 15, not by a long shot. The sale will also feature several important area estates, including the living estate of a woman from Boca Raton who, now in her 90s, has enjoyed a long and rich life as an antiques collector, dealer and appraiser. Some of the items from her estate, amassed over a period of 65 years, include:

A stunning Tiffany Peony lamp; a collection of Lalique glass; three Louis Icart etchings, original and hand-colored; an oil painting by Reynolds Beal (1867-1951); a sporting watercolor by Ogden Pleissner (1905-1983); a gold-handled cane presented to the Governor of New York in 1905; a paneled library from an actual English castle; and a rare, museum-quality Vernis Martin bed.

This is only the second sale Gallery 63 will have held in its new location, at 4577 Roswell Road, in the fashionable Buckhead section of Atlanta. The firm was previously housed at 6363 Roswell Road (hence the name), about three miles away, but it outgrew that space. An inaugural sale at the new, larger quarters was held March 3-4. The 17,000-square-foot facility is a former fellowship hall.

Gallery 63 is accepting quality consignments for subsequent sales planned for 2007. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call the firm at (404) 252-2555, The e-mail address is rbaron2@bellsouth.net. Members of the media are encouraged to reserve space early for the media preview and reception for the April 15 sale, as attendance will be capped to allow for an orderly event.

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Contact: Paul Brown
Tel: (404) 252-2555, or (404) 863-6851

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