Martin Luther King Jr. Funeral: Coretta Scott King sips from a cup and talks on the phone, while lying in bed at her home in Atlanta. To her right is her secretary, Atlanta, Georgia. From a rare series of intimate photographs of Martin Luther King’s family before and during his funeral, taken by Black Star photographer Bob Fitch.

Coretta Scott King (1927-2006) was an American author, activist and civil rights leader. She was the wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. She helped lead the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. She took part in the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and worked to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Donated to the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College by Michael Mattis and Judy Hochberg on June 2, 2021.

On verso: artist’s credit stamp, Black Star stamp and agency stamp.

On verso: Stamped near center in black ink, "Credit: / Bob Fitch / from BLACK STAR [star stamped above text]". Handwritten in graphite in bottom left corner: "BF-003 6000". Stamped in blue ink near center right: "TRANSWORLD Ftr. Synd. Inc, / Via Ostl, 10 / MILANO - 89.80.22". Handwritten in red ink in bottom right corner: "F251".

Sheet: 8 1/8 x 10

Ferrotyped prints are processed in such a way that they are shiny. The print has a sensitive surface, usually thinner, because it was put through a press while still wet.

Ferrotyped prints have a sensitive surface, usually shiny and thinner, because they are put through a press while still wet. Ferrotyping makes the surface of the photograph smoother. Light does not scatter as much on a smoother surface, so this increases contrast. That makes ferrotyped images better for press photography.

This object has the following keywords:

• Assassinations
• Atlanta
• Beds
• Civil Rights Movements
• Coretta Scott King
• Coretta Scott King
• Death
• Discrimination
• Domestic Scenes
• Drinking
• Funerals
• Hate
• Hate crimes
• Injustice
• Martin Luther King Family
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Mourning
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• Telephones
• Widows

• Image Dimensions: 6 3/8 x 9 9/16 in. (16.19 x 24.29 cm)