Magician David Copperfield to Give Rare M.L. King Tape to Museum
September 7, 2012 | Read Time: 1 minute
Celebrity illusionist David Copperfield has purchased a rare audio recording of Martin Luther King Jr. and will donate the recently discovered reel-to-reel tape to a civil-rights museum in Memphis, Tennessee, says Reuters.
The 10-minute recording features a 1960 interview with Mr. King for an unrealized book project. Recently discovered by the would-be author’s son in his father’s attic, it is one of the few known recordings of the civil-rights leader not drawn from a public address or sermon.
Mr. Copperfield announced the purchase Wednesday and said he would hand over the tape to the National Civil Rights Museum, which is housed in the Memphis motel where Mr. King was assassinated in 1968. “Not much amazes me, because of what I do, but to get a discovery like this is just mind-boggling,” he said.
The magician declined to reveal the purchase price. Keya Morgan, a New York dealer in historical artifacts who had sold the tape to Mr. Copperfield, said he appraised its value at $100,000.
