I think that Deb's mention of the North Carolina bill of rights case raises a couple of issues that are at the core of our discussion here: in the U.S., first, thieves can never convey good title--doesn't matter how many years pass. Getting the thing back is another matter (see the Georgia O'Keefe case), but there is always a cloud on the title. And equally important in this case is the idea that government records (like a copy of the Bill of Rights sent to each state) and community property can never be alienated from its government or community. This is a principle laid out nicely in the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and other state and federal law. Admittedly, this has required many museums to rethink their acquisitions policies, but this is not a bad thing! Claudia Claudia J. Nicholson Executive Director North Star Museum of Boy Scouting and Girl Scouting 651-748-2880 [log in to unmask] www.nssm.org ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).