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I Have a Dream: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Draft | Books & Manuscripts
I Have a Dream: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Draft
Sale Overview
Delivered from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on 28 August 1963, Dr. King's stirring words inspired generations to strive peacefully for a more just and equitable world. Today, the “I Have a Dream” speech is widely considered one of the most important in American history.
A newly identified manuscript, handwritten by Dr. King in the early morning hours of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, offers a new perspective on the drafting of this historic speech. Discovered in the papers of Edward T. Clayton, one of Dr. King's speechwriters and advisors, the manuscript’s content was previously unknown to scholarship. Composed on seven pages of legal paper, Dr. King’s numerous corrections and deletions offer a glimpse into his creative process as he crafted what was the most crucial and consequential oration of his career.
On 22 January 2027, Christie's will present this important manuscript at auction to support the philanthropic efforts spearheaded by Xernona Clayton and the Still Marching Irrevocable Charitable Unitrust, a portion of the sale proceeds to benefit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center For Nonviolent Social Change.
Auction times
22 Jan 10:00 AM (EST)
Brought to you by
Peter Klarnet
Senior Specialist, Americana | Books & Manuscripts
Peter joined Christies in 2016 after twenty years working with manuscript Americana, spending the first portion of his career cataloging for, and later managing, a Connecticut auction house specializing in historical autographs. In 2005 he left that firm to pursue opportunities as a consultant, agent and dealer. Although his primary interests center on early America, especially the American Revolution and Early Republic, Peter has appraised, cataloged and sold a wide range of material from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Since joining Christie's, Peter has worked with many important collections including the papers of the Marquis de Chastellux, The Private Collection of President and Mrs. Reagan, The Findlay-Wright Papers, the Roger Judd Collection of American Historical Autographs, the Louisiana Purchase Collection of A. J. Tullock, The Collection of Lee Bouvier Radziwill, The Private Collection of William S. Reese, The Birth of Wikipedia, The Papers of Richard N. Goodwin, and most recently, DJ Kool Herc and the Birth of Hip Hop and The Collection of André Leon Talley. Some of Peter’s more prominent auction records include the sale of the Albert Einstein God Letter, bringing $2.89 million—a world record for an Einstein letter at auction; the unique Ionic Original disc of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” (£1.48m); and most recently the Arizona Spike: one of four presentation spikes presented at the ceremony marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 ($2.22m). Peter holds a B.A. in History from Antioch College, and a M.A. in History from the University of Delaware with a certificate in museum studies. He has curated several exhibits including a major exhibition at Federal Hall in New York celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2009.
Since joining Christie's, Peter has worked with many important collections including the papers of the Marquis de Chastellux, The Private Collection of President and Mrs. Reagan, The Findlay-Wright Papers, the Roger Judd Collection of American Historical Autographs, the Louisiana Purchase Collection of A. J. Tullock, The Collection of Lee Bouvier Radziwill, The Private Collection of William S. Reese, The Birth of Wikipedia, The Papers of Richard N. Goodwin, and most recently, DJ Kool Herc and the Birth of Hip Hop and The Collection of André Leon Talley. Some of Peter’s more prominent auction records include the sale of the Albert Einstein God Letter, bringing $2.89 million—a world record for an Einstein letter at auction; the unique Ionic Original disc of Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” (£1.48m); and most recently the Arizona Spike: one of four presentation spikes presented at the ceremony marking the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869 ($2.22m). Peter holds a B.A. in History from Antioch College, and a M.A. in History from the University of Delaware with a certificate in museum studies. He has curated several exhibits including a major exhibition at Federal Hall in New York celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln in 2009.
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