[meteorite-list] Feb. 1964 Elbert King, Roy Clarke Smithsonian letter + KIT A

[tracy latimer]

>The following link is to a letter from the Smithsonian, via Roy Clark to 
>Elbert "Bert" King, who at the time was head of the Lunar Receiving 
>Laboratory   King was one of the first to study Bediasite tektites, the 
>first curator of lunar rocks and helped recover several meteorites, 
>including being the first American to go to Allende after its fall in 1969. 
>He is author of many publications including the book, "Space Geology" a 
>textbook that has a lot of information on meteorites.
>
>This letter is of historical note because of it's interesting content.  
>Basically, the Smithsonian tells NASA that they shouldn't play with 
>meteorites.
>

Sounds like the Smithsonian is warning NASA away from competing with them 
for specimens, not unlike some of the occasional dogfights (not Nakhla!) we 
get on the List. :-)  I get the impression that the Smithsonian got very 
territorial about meteorites at one point in its history, at least the US 
ones it felt it could lay claim to.

Tracy Latimer