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Bob Marley Expert Roger Steffens Sells His Massive Reggae Archives in ‘Multimillion Dollar’ Deal (EXCLUSIVE)
Roger Steffens has sold his reggae archive — said to include the world's largest collection of Bob Marley artifacts — for a 'multimillion-dollar' sum.
He first showcased his archives for the public in 2001, curating the collection with a sprawling eight-month exhibit in Long Beach, California, dubbed “The World of Reggae,” which coincided with Marley receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Walking through the vast collection is like taking residence inside Steffens’ head, with its barrage of reggae posters, album covers, buttons, live cassettes and interviews, rare white label Trojan releases, magazine articles, folk art, paintings and Haile Selassie memorabilia, including an autographed, postmarked envelope commemorating his famed October 4, 1963, speech to the United Nations, the words of which were set to music by Marley in “War.” Warned not to go into Kingston, Steffens braved the tension to end up at Marley’s own record shack “the size of two telephone booths,” where a pickpocket, a local notorious reggae singer and producer almost relieved him of $400 cash, only to sell him one of his own singles from under his jacket for $1.25.
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