Important collection of documents from Alex Haley's estate, including three items signed or annotated by Malcolm X.

Manuscript sheet music for In Memoriam, inspired by The Autobiography of Malcolm X and composed by Willamette University Dean Charles Bestor between 1968 and 1971. First performed in 1971 at a concert attended by Alex Haley. Signed by Bestor on the title page and inscribed to Haley "with deepest respect." [ii], 56 pp. Folio, plastic comb binding, unsophisticated gray card wraps hand-lettered in marker. Very Good with musty odor, light wear and moderate soiling to wraps, rippling from water exposure to front wrap and first half of book, and heavy edge toning throughout.

Western Union telegram from Malcolm X to Alex Haley, signed M Sahabazz [sic]: "Will probably be here in Miami until after Tuesday and back in New York by Wednesday / Sorry for the delay / My phone number here is NE 36011 Room 115=." February 20, 1963. Near Fine.

Seven mimeographed typewritten documents authored by Malcolm X and prong bound into a manila folder; legal-sized sheets are folded to fit. Auctioneer's label to folder and slight rusting to prong; contents Very Good with musty odor and light to moderate waterstaining to each sheet.

- Single-page text of a telegram to President Kennedy protesting the 1963 arrest of "a Muslim minister and 12 other innocent Negroes." February 16, 1963.

- 12 pp. essay "Racism: The Cancer that is Destroying America, " written for the Egyptian Gazette. August 25, 1964. Manuscript note in Alex Haley's hand: "Take problem to United Nations."

- 11 pp. press statement "The 2nd African Summit Conference." August 22, 1964.

- Single-page copy of a message sent to the Organization of African Unity, plus cover sheet. July 28, 1964

- 3 pp. speech made to the Young Men's Muslim Association, plus cover sheet. July 27, 1964.

- 8 pp. speech addressed to the Organization of African Unity. July 17, 1964. Manuscript note in Malcolm X's hand to final page verso: "Here is a copy of the memorandum so you won't have to call [illegible] Theresa for it after all as I suggested in my letter."

- Single-page press statement addressing the split with Elijah Muhammad. March 8, 1964.

28 items, chiefly correspondence between Alex Haley and his editors at Doubleday & Co relating to The Autobiography of Malcolm X and his 1976 book Roots: The Saga of an American Family, prong bound into a manila folder. Auctioneer's label to folder and slight rusting to prong; contents Near Fine with minimal wear.

- 18 signed letters to Haley from William Ewald, Ken McCormick, Lisa Drew, and Wolcott Gibbs, Jr. One letter, regarding payments due to the two authors, was shared with Malcolm X. His signed manuscript note at the bottom of the page states: "I have no objections to the terms you have made with Mr. Haley as mentioned above; as long as you remember that the other half goes not to me, but to Muhommad's Mosque. Malcolm X."

- 5 photocopies of letters between Haley, Gibbs, Paul R. Reynolds, and James P. Dwyer discussing the legal implications of some passages from The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

- 2 carbon copies of letters between Haley, Ewald, and Gibbs.

- 2 carbon copies of contracts, one signed by Haley and McCormick and one signed by Haley and Malcolm X (publisher's signature line unfilled).

- Carbon copy of text for the dust jacket for The Autobiography of Malcolm X.

The correspondence provides a fascinating look into the creation of one of the most famous memoirs in literary history, published just months after its author's shocking assassination. The interviews got off to a rocky start, and even after the two men established a rapport, the collaborative process dragged on for more than two years — long enough that at one point Haley ran out of funds and couldn't pay his phone bill. The overworked Malcolm X met with Haley less frequently than his ghostwriter desired, and often spent some of their time together making calls and receiving visitors. In one letter dated January 29, 1964, Gibbs at Doubleday warns: "Please bear in mind that the more rewriting you do, the further we are away from having a finished book, since Doubleday can't cope with material as fast as you can produce it." In another letter, he requests that Haley watch out for too much slang: "this should really be a book of national importance, and it's surprising how few people really are up on slang." This was difficult, since Haley was determined to preserve the style of Malcolm X, "the demagogue, sometimes ragged at the edges, sometimes quasi-dulcet, sometimes pounding, without obvious intrusion by the 'as told to' writer."

Also significant is a 1969 letter from Haley to a somewhat impatient Ewald regarding his latest project, Roots. "It is going to be a very major book, no question about it. I do not mean this in a vain way, I mean it in the sense of knowing, clinically, the power of its material that is now in the writing." The book would not be completed for years, but when published it took America by storm. The novel topped The New York Times bestseller list for five months, won a Pulitzer, and was quickly adapted into a critically acclaimed and culturally influential miniseries.