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I'm no lawyer, Sherman. At a minimum, however, I suspect that this forecloses any possibility that the papers could be sold to a private investor for re-sale to individual collectors after the death of King's children. Narrowing potential bidders to institutions capable of archiving and making them available to scholars and the public is a step in the right direction. It is possible that this could delay the auction while the lawyers hash things out, but that would make Sotheby's and the King Estate unhappy campers.
I had been quite worried about the sale and had been wondering what you thought. Now I know! Is there anything we can do at this point to help forestall the dispersion of the materials?