compared to the rather sad original:
Posted on 01/19/2008 4:09:04 PM PST by Libloather
Declaration falls through the cracks
The Supreme Court's rare copy is safely tucked away, then forgotten for seven years, a spokeswoman says.
By Steve Chawkins, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 19, 2008
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to locate a rare, vintage copy of the nation's founding document, try looking behind the filing cabinet.
That was a lesson learned the hard way at the Supreme Court, where a 185-year-old facsimile of the Declaration of Independence gathered dust for seven years, tucked behind the office furniture, a court spokeswoman acknowledged this week.
Commissioned by John Quincy Adams when he was secretary of State, the 1823 engraving of the Declaration is now hanging in a court corridor with a notation describing its significance. Valued at perhaps $500,000, it is one of about 30 copies known to exist.
The disclosure about the so-called Stone facsimile, named after engraver William Stone, comes amid increasing concern over the nation's treatment of its historical artifacts. Last fall, auditors for the National Archives criticized several presidential libraries -- particularly the Reagan library near Simi Valley -- for lax control over their holdings.
At the Supreme Court, the snafu was blamed on the disorder that comes with an office face-lift.
The document had hung in the clerk's office of the Supreme Court building until 1996, when workers arrived to remodel the area, court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said Friday. At that point, it was taken down and stuck out of harm's way behind an automated filing cabinet.
"When an office goes through renovation, things get moved around," Arberg said. "It was definitely safe where it was."
And there it stayed until 2003, when an official realized it was missing...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
ping
Let me know when they find their copy of the Constitution.
The SCOTUS having lost it’s copy of the Declaration of Independence is par for the course. I suspect they lost their copy of the Constitution at the same time - at least it would explain a lot of things.
And I thought they only treated the Constitution like garbage.
Declaration falls through the cracks
My first thought was it was found in an old pair of Bergers shorts.
Did it have a treasure map on the back?
Perfect! LOL!
Thanks to Libloather for the post and NonValueAdded for the ping; thought this was worth a full ping to the list. And, exit82’s comment was priceless...
It was safe behind the filing cabinet, too. Could have stayed there for 100 years collecting dust, no problem.
Somebody bought one for $2.48 in Nashville a couple of years ago.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17761718/
brilliant!!!
compared to the rather sad original:
OK, you made me lol on that one! ;~/
How sadly funny! BUT, how, or I should say, WHY would someone put a $500,000 copy behind a file cabinet for safekeeping.....maybe it’s just me, but I thought that’s what safes or safe deposit boxes were for?????
Sandy Berger Missing Document ping!
I didn’t know they had fscsimile machines in 1823.
Close.
Alexander Bain received the first patent for a fax machine in 1843.
Thanks!
Valued at perhaps $500,000, it is one of about 30 copies known to exist.Seems a little low. Shouldn't it be listed as priceless?
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