Hilco Streambank (www.hilcostreambank.com), a leading intellectual property advisory firm specializing in the valuation and sale of intangible assets, has successfully completed the auction for Johnson Publishing Company, LLC’s historic photography and media archive, which includes more than 4 million images, negatives and notes along with thousands of hours of video and music footage chronicling African American history dating back to 1945. The archive was sold for $30 million dollars to a consortium of foundations, comprised of the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
According to the Smithsonian Institution, the foundation consortium will donate the archives to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Getty Research Institute, and other leading cultural institutions for the public benefit to ensure the broadest access for the general public and use by scholars, researchers, journalists, and other interested parties.
