Ebony photos buyer may remain mystery
The historic photo archive of Ebony and Jet magazines was be sold at auction Wednesday by the magazines’ now-bankrupt former publisher Johnson Publishing Company, but the identity of the buyer may remain a mystery.
The collection of more than 4 million photographs that capture seven decades of black life in America is set to be sold at a Chicago auction, organized by Hilco Streambank. Only those who have submitted a bid will be able to attend today’s sale, which will be finalized at a hearing on July 23.
“We won’t be able to comment until after the sale hearing,” Benjamin Kaplan, an associate at Hilco Streambank, said in an email to USA TODAY. “And even then we may not be able to disclose the identity of the bidder.”
The archive was once valued at $46 million, but the minimum bid for all the assets is $12.5 million, according to Richelle Kalnit, senior vice president at Hilco Streambank.
The archive includes photographs of Martin Luther King Jr., Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Nat “King” Cole, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, Prince and Stevie Wonder. There also are snapshots of everyday life with images depicting the black church, food and fashion.
Whoever gets the photos will determine whether or not the public will have access to the historic archives. An interested party could, for example, buy only the copyrights to monetize and license the photographs, while another party could get the physical copies to keep in a personal collection, Kalnit explained.
The archive is organized by subject matter, so it also is possible a buyer could purchase all the photos of a particular person or event. While dividing up the archive like this would be “administratively difficult,” Kalnit said she would welcome any such inquiries.
Experts worry the sale could result in the photos being lost to the public forever.
“It’s something worth saving . ... This is not something that one individual ought to have or keep for themselves,” said Samir Husni, a magazine industry analyst and journalism professor at the University of Mississippi. “This is a history that should be open for everybody.”