Client Testimonials

“The late Bill Witliff brought Adam in to appraise my so called archives for the Witliff Collection at Texas State University in San Marcos Texas. My archives consisted of many boxes of song lyrics scribbled on legal pads, dating back decades, as well as old audio tapes and hard drives to which I had no idea how to assess a value. Adam somehow figured out what my stuff was worth and Texas State paid me without complaint, thus allowing me to have an income during the twenty twenty lockdown.”

     “My father, Larry McMurtry, passed away in March of twenty twenty-one, leaving an extremely complicated estate, consisting of intellectual property, pasture land, a rare bookstore, and an immense house full of books, letters, antiques, and art. The house was in Archer County Texas, where most big estates consist of real estate with mineral rights and cattle, maybe a trucking company or some kind of oil field service business. I knew Adam came from a rare book background so I offered him the job. I don't believe anyone else could have pulled it off. No one knows books anymore, and few people know art. I had to talk him off the ledge a couple of times because my father had not been organized or careful. We kept finding valuable letters stuffed inside random books in Larry's personal collection, and ended up having to search through each of the thirty thousand volumes to make sure we had everything. The bookstore was a separate nightmare. The many appraisals took about a year and the estate tax return was as thick as the Washington D.C. phone book circa nineteen seventy five. I owe Adam a truckload of steak dinners.” —James McMurtry, Texas singer-songwriter

“Adam Muhlig walked into our lives a total stranger to appraise my wife Jo Harvey’s and my archives. Personal notebooks, workbooks, sketchbooks, diaries, photos, journals, letters, scripts, songbooks, etc...over 60 years of our working struggles and private lives, individually as artists and collaboratively. A nerve wracking situation in spades, to say the least! We had no idea what to expect except probably the worst. The absolute opposite was true. Adam’s knowledge of all the arts, his sensitivity to what we were going through, his dedication to getting it right and especially, his choices of music to play and our easy conversations while he was working with us, was a great relief and comfort to us both. We’ve recommended him to all our closest friends who are going through similar situations with their archives and will continue to do so. I can’t conceive of anybody else doing what Adam Muhlig does any better or even as well.”
—Terry Allen, Santa Fe, NM

“Adam Muhlig is professionalism personified. He knows the appraisal business like no other—whether it's rare books, literary manuscripts, rock memorabilia, or Babylonian cuneiforms. I'd entrust my appraising to no one else.” —Bryan A. Garner, Editor-in-chief, Black's Law Dictionary

“Everything about my experience with Adam was good. He was prompt, intelligent, and certain, and with his considerable help my papers have been sold and are now in protective hands. I would recommend him to anyone.” —Ted Kooser, U. S. Poet Laureate 2004 - 2006

“I am happy that, out of the list of major archivists whom I consulted, I asked Adam Muhlig to evaluate my papers. He worked promptly, with the utmost care and attention. When we finally met, that confirmed the high regard I had formed of him. I would certainly recommend him in my view.”  —W. S. Merwin, U. S. Poet Laureate 2010

“Adam Muhlig is very knowledgeable in his specialized areas, extremely thorough in his examinations and meticulous in his assessments of materials, and a great pleasure to work with besides. His appraisal of my diverse collections was conducted in a highly conscientious and professional manner, and helped expedite their successful final disposition with a minimum of stress.”
—Joseph Parisi, Former Editor, Poetry Magazine