xiv, 245 pages, 4 unnumbered leaves of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
ISBN
0472110446 alk. paper 9780472110445 alk. paper 9780472087846 0472087843
Alternate Call Number
N 637 SAX.P
Summary
"Some of the world's greatest treasures are hidden away and haven't been seen publicly for decades, sometimes for centuries. Others have been destroyed. They are not stolen property. They are simply private property, and no matter their public significance, the public has no claims on them. A capricious owner of Leonardo da Vinci's notebook would be perfectly within his rights to throw it in the fireplace, as James Joyce's grandson did with letters from the author's daughter, or Warren Harding's widow did with her husband's Teapot Dome papers. This is a book about such rights and why they are wrong."
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 203-233) and index.
Formatted Contents Note
The Diego Rivera mural Artists' rights and public rights The bonfires of loyalty and the flames of ambivalence Our architectural heritage Collectors: private vices, public benefits Presidential papers Papers of Supreme Court justices Access to library and museum collections Heirs, biographers, and scholars An academic scandal par excellence: the Dead Sea Scrolls The privatization of scholarly research Antiquities business.
"Some of the world's greatest treasures are hidden away and haven't been seen publicly for decades, sometimes for centuries. Others have been destroyed. They are not stolen property. They are simply private property, and no matter their public significance, the public has no claims on them. A capricious owner of Leonardo da Vinci's notebook would be perfectly within his rights to throw it in the fireplace, as James Joyce's grandson did with letters from the author's daughter, or Warren Harding's widow did with her husband's Teapot Dome papers. This is a book about such rights and why they are wrong."