I want to add some comments to the debate over the auction of the Leonard
Hill collection. First, my understanding is that Ed Paul is not the owner of
the collection, although he stands to inherit part of it. He is the executor
of the estate. The estate has considerable debt, and to settle the debt, the
assets of the estate must be sold. After the debt is settled, any remaining
assets will be distributed as designated in Len's will.
The materials that are being auctioned are a combination of Len's private
collection (and perhaps books and other personal effects), and his dealer's
stock. The stock will be largely the same material that he has offered for
sale elsewhere, and will probably be of interest mainly to other dealers who
want to buy large lots of various species. There will certainly be some
unique and valuable items, however, some parts of the private collection
have already been sold. For example, Ed Paul told me last week that the
miter collection has been sold. Overall, I agree with Rich Goldberg that
sale of this collection will not substantially detract from sales at the
dealers' bourse. Even the COA auction might not be much affected. If each of
400 convention attendees spends only $25 at the COA auction, $10,000 will be
raised.
I should state that I have an interest in the outcome of the auction of the
Leonard Hill Collection for several reasons. First, I'm a board member of
COA (but this message is from me privately), and I'm concerned about the
conflicting schedules. Second I'm director of educational grants for COA, so
I want the COA auction to succeed so that we can fund lots of projects. On
the other hand, Len's private collection of Olividae, reputed to be one of
the best in the world, was willed to my institution. If sale of other assets
does not cover the debts of the estate, the Olividae and other items that
Len willed to particular individuals or institutions will be sold also. A
boycott of the auction would make it less likely the terms of Len's will can
be carried out as he would have wished them to be. A boycott would also
divide convention attendees into camps of those who honored the boycott and
those who did not. I think people should make their own decisions on whether
to attend the auction, without pressure from the group.
I talked to Ed Paul on the telephone this morning. He said that dates to
hold the auction immediately before or after the COA convention are not
available. The only options are to cancel the auction or hold it on the day
scheduled. He is willing to negotiate about timing of events on the day, and
about giving a percentage of proceeds in return for cooperation from COA.
Gary
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Gary Rosenberg, Ph.D. [log in to unmask]
Malacology & Invertebrate Paleontology gopher://erato.acnatsci.org
Academy of Natural Sciences http://www.acnatsci.org
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