Hey, y'all clones feel free to edit this thread if you feel it isn't appropriate, but I thought some music-minded people might want to take a gander.
Leland Little has an extremely reputable auction house based here in Hillsborough NC. He is a local treasure, and a fabulous musician himself.
I just happened to stop in today and saw an amazing collection of instruments: banjos, guitars, mandos, all KINDS of interesting stuff. This auction is Thursday November 3, and they DO do absentee and phone bidding. Go to llauctions.com to find out more about the provenance of these instruments.