The collection sounds absolutely marvelous, but this situation speaks
directly to the issue of the collection and holding of important historical
materials by private individuals. What did you intend to do with this
collection in the future? What kinds of long-term plans did you have? This
is a real tragedy, since this material should have been collected by, or
turned over to, in the first place, a professional library/archives.

$800,000 is a sizable amount for most historical organizations. As you can
see, even for the Smithsonian. Historical material like this, while vitally
important for historical research, rarely carries high collector premiums as
a whole collection. Individual items with signatures, etc., can demand
premiums, but I have found that COLLECTIONS like this, with a narrow, though
important focus, do not attract wealthy collectors.

There are only a few places that this collection logically belongs: Henry
Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI; the National Park Service; the Hagley in
Delaware; Harvard Library; or the Smithsonian. There may be others, but
these come to mind first...and probably to yours as well.

Good luck. And I hope that wherever this collection finally comes to rest,
that historians and researchers have access to it. Hate to see it buried in
some private vault.