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The Bill of Rights: The Seventh Amendment, 2002

 Item — Box: 146
Identifier: CC-38969-40906

Scope and Contents

The Seventh Amendment states, "In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed $20, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law." Minsky bound a copy of The Litigation Explosion: What Happened When America Unleashed the Lawsuit by Walter K. Olson.Minsky writes in his web site description of the Bill of Rights series, "In 1789 twenty dollars went a long way. Since the 1970's, 'civil' lawsuits have flooded the judicial systm. Now a multibillion dollar business, the litigation industry proceeds on flimsy pretexts, preceding a search for evidence. The spine of the binding is gold leather with the title foilstamped in silver(neither is the genuine metal). The gold and silver make it hard to decipher. the covers appear to be a collage of $20 bills, but closer examination reveals them to be artificial as well. Jackson has been replaced by James Madison, whose signature replaces that of the Secretary of the Treasury and whose title reads 'Father of the Bill of Rights.' The text of the Seventh Amendment is superimposed on the treasury seal, and there are several other changes. The slipcase is covered with court calendar listings from the New York Law Journal. On any day you may find 20 broadside pages listing lawsuits in New York. It is coated with two layers of ultraviolet filter acrylic."According to an interview of Richard Minsky by Bob Andelman on http://vimeo.com/36516102, only nine copies of this book object were produced even though 25 copies were planned. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Dates

  • Creation: 2002

Creator

Extent

1 item (1 book object) : hard cover book (388 pages) in cover (collaged, currency) + slipcase (collaged, paper) ; 24 x 17 x 3 cm (book), 25 x 17 x 5 cm (slipcase)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Original Sackner Archive Location

closet front ro

Custodial History

The Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry, gift of Ruth and Marvin A. Sackner and the Sackner Family Partnership.

Materials Specific Details

Published: New York : Richard Minsky. Signed by: Richard Minsky (b.c.- label inside back cover). Nationality of creator: American. Copies: 9 copies of 25 total copies. 1 number copy.

Processing Information

Added by: RUTH; updated by: MARVIN.

Genre / Form

Topical

Repository Details

Part of the The Ruth and Marvin Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry Repository

Contact:
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