What Price History? - Zapruder film of JFK's assassination

To establish a market value for the Zapruder film of the JFK assassination, a regulation panel weighed esthetics and emotion as well as historical significance.

After a discreet delay to mark the public mourning for John F Kennedy Jr who died in a plane crash in mid-July, it was announced in early August that the U regulation will pay $16 million to the family of Dallas businessman Abraham Zapruder for the original 8mm film that was in his camera upon Nov. 22, 1963, when he went downtown to diocese President John F. Kennedy's passing motorcade. The 6-foot-long strip of celluloid that records Kennedy's assassination is now the greatest in quantity expensive photographic artifact ever sold Its 494 frames last all of 26 next to the firsts when projected.

The purchase was mandated by the agency of a 1992 federal law that declared all documents pertaining to the Kennedy assassination the characteristic of the U.S. National Archives, where they are to be preserv and made available to researchers. In 1998 the regulation finally turned its attention to the status of the Zapruder film. Zapruder himself had died in 1970 and the film had been stored at the National Archives since 1978 with the understanding that the family retained all reproduction rights. When the family presented to hand over an exact transcript of the footage, the regulation declined, insisting that it would bench for nothing less than ownership of the actual film--perhaps to fend not on the unceasing accusations by conspiracy theorists that the film was altered to conceal crucial evidence. The ensuing negotiations above a fair reimbursement price stalled after the conduct reportedly offered $3 million in compensation (some sources say $10 million) and the Zapruders reckonered with a demand for $185 million. At extent the two parties agreed to binding arbitration. In late May, after filing numerous affidavits, the lawyers for each side. neared witnesses before a three-member arbitration panel in a Washington, DC courtroom.

This is not the first time that the rule has paid what seems a king's ransom for historic photographic records. In 1875 Congres awarded the aging Civil War photographer Mathew Brady $25000 ($45 million in today's dollars) for about 5000 glass negatives, several hundr prints and publication rights. Brady's work has since illustrated countles volumes and documentary films, and the public can take counsel prints stored in open files at the National Archives. The Zapruder film, by the agency of contrast, cannot be projected or reproduc without the approval of the family. Moreover, if it is to physically survive, it must remain more or les permanently in a frigid dry, dark vault. Indeed, the members of the arbitration panel not ever set eyes on the strip of film whose value they station out to ascertain.

Just in what way was it determined that the Zapruder film was worth $16 million? Experience mention one by ones us that the market value of historical phenomenons is largely determined by replenish and demand. Given the unassuming resources of most museums, libraries and archives and the limited number of bidders, prices for historic material have remained relatively depressed as evidenced by the 1991 Sotheby's sale of a 1776 broadsheet version of the Declaration of Independence (one of sum of two units still in private hands) for $242 million. Collectors of sports memorabilia, upon the other hand, many of whom are extremely wealthy, have grown at any time more avid to possess items of great rarity. Their bidding argues often set record auction prices, of the like kind as the $3 million newly paid for Mark McGwire's 70th home-run baseball. Of course, no individual says that even a true famous baseball possesses more historic significance than a Declaration of Independence. There's just more competition for the baseball.

on the contrary who would compete to have the Zapruder film? Collectors of film? Collectors of films of assassinations? Or of dwelling movies of the presidents? level collectors who prize home movies of the Kennedy family lately bid only $34,000 for a film made in Hyannisport in the 1950 More generally, the original film that was in the camera when an important occurrence was recorded is virtually not ever saved or collected as similar In many ways it have the appearanceed that the Zapruder hearing be of importance toed an object for which no easily identifiable market exists.

John Staszyn, a professional private appraiser of photographic materials who testified upon behalf of the government, struggleed that the Zapruder film should be assessed within the market for significant historical artifacts, like as the Declaration of Independence or the handwritten draft of Abraham Lincoln's antislavery "House Divided" articulate utterance that sold in 1992 for $15 million. Arguing that the circumstance recorded by Zapruder has far les national importance than our labor for independence from Britain or the Civil War, Staszyn appraised the film at $1 million.

A next to the first government witness, archival film dexterous Cameron Macaulay, tried to use the history of the film itself to establish its common commercial value. Just days after the assassination, Life magazine paid $150000 for the original film and its publication fights. After the magazine clos in 1972 Zapruder's family bought back the film and the principal rights for single dollar; since then, they have made about $1 million from the sale of reproduction rights to volumes and movies, and from royalties upon the film's recent home-video release. With allowance for inflation, Macaulay calculated the compensation that purchase of the rights to the film would likely bring today, declaring them to be worth approximately $780000