So ...
I asked for help from a friend and acquaintance of Michael's to reach out to Cody's McCracken Library. This is where Michael wanted his materials to go.
He wrote an email (copying me) with a detailed description of the contents of Michael's research drawers. They responded but "were disappointed that much of the original catalogs and other original items had been sold".
We followed up by asking if they would accept the materials including all the original Niedner letters, shop books, photos, etc and there wasn't any answer for almost two weeks. After a more strongly worded email, they responded and apologized saying they were working on a grant that had an imminent deadline the following day. That was two weeks ago.
After their unresponsiveness, and general lack of interest I spoke to Michael's wife and she told me to look for a new home for the material. Although it is not finalized, it is highly likely that the materials will go the ASSRA archives. Although Michael's research and files primarily dealt with custom 20th century gunmakers (and bolt-action sporting rifles) they understand the importance of the materials and are genuinely interested in obtaining them. They also have the shop records for Eric Johnson, so the ASSRA Archives are not a complete mismatch. I believe that individuals may get easier access to the materials as well.
This note is likely to generate a lot of thoughts and opinions. I hope the readers will respect our decision.
Joe
