[meteorite-list] 1954 Mrs Hodges Meteorite Legal Documents archive

[Linton Rohr]

Ahoy there listees,
I spend a lot of time on Astromart and just spotted an ad there for archival 
legal documents from the court case regarding ownership of the famous 
Sylacauga meteorite. This is from the collection of a former Griffith 
Observatory employee. I thought someone here might be interested, so I'll 
pass it along. (Now that's a hammer!) ;^)
Linton




http://www.astromart.com/classifieds/details.asp?classified_id=625344

"By far the most famous case of a person struck by a meteorite happened in 
Alabama in 1954 when Mrs. Ann Hodges was hit while napping on her sofa. She 
and her landlord ended up in court over ownership of the meteorite (which 
ended up at the University of Alabama). The story has been told many times, 
but here is a copy of much (most?) of the legal documents, including court 
papers, depositions, mineralogy reports, etc. Plus a stack of letters from 
the public to Mrs. Hodges including schoolchildren. Plus background magazine 
and newspaper articles from the time. Plus cartoons and odd miscellaneous 
items. Plus four 8x10 glossy prints of Mrs. Hodges and her meteorite made 
from original photos. I can provide a partial inventory, but the stack is 1 
inch thick if you compress it and there's a lot of incredibly diverse, 
unusual, and rare material here. All are old photocopies (except the four 
prints). $250 ppd within USA. You won't see this one again."