Appraisals And Revenooers
If you plan to give your books or manuscripts to your alma mater, do not—repeat, not—try to bamboozle the tax examiner. Uncle Sam is watching you, and his agents may be shrewder than you think
June 1966 | Volume 17, Issue 4
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I share with most persons who have a genuine affection for the printed or written word the sense of uneasiness that comes from hearing dealers, collectors, and institution officials discuss an item as an investment in the same sense one would discuss a stock. When you buy a book or an autograph you invest in incredible adventure, excitement, and mystery. Where else can you spend your money so wisely? Spend it, then—wisely, freely, foolishly, carefully—it’s your money. But don’t try to make it back at the expense of your uncle in Washington. For I assure you that there isn’t any dodge that some sharp mind in the Internal Revenue Service hasn’t heard about. This doesn’t mean that some people haven’t gotten away with it. But the day of reckoning is drawing closer; when it comes, all of us, the calculating and the naïve, the bad and the good, will be asked to pay the price.
American Heritage is proud to host the
National Portal to
Historic Collections
Recently added:
- American Revolution Center
- National Museum of Civil War Medicine
- National Museum of the U.S. Navy
- Manassas National Battlefield
- Maryland State House
In association with the
American Association for State and Local History
Why do we need a national nonprofit membership society for American history?
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“Save America’s Treasures” has been totally eliminated—the largest Federal program supporting preservation of such treasures as the original Star Spangled Banner and George Washington’s tent.
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65% of Americans don’t know what happened at the Constitutional Convention, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
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The “Teaching American History” grants—the largest Federal program supporting history education—have been completely eliminated.
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Visits to the Top 20 Civil War battlefields have dropped in half from 1970 to 2009 according to official National Park Service statistics.
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40% of Americans can’t identify whom we fought in World War II, according to a recent survey by Newsweek.
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A quarter of Americans believe Congress shares power over U.S. foreign policy with the United Nations, according to a recent Annenberg survey.
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“There is little that is more important for an American citizen to know than the history and traditions of his country,” John F. Kennedy wrote in American Heritage.
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The “We the People Program,” which touched some 30 million students and 90,000 teachers over 25 years, has been completely eliminated.
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Two-thirds of Americans could not correctly name Yorktown as the last major military action of the American Revolution, according to a recent national Gallup survey.
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The National Heritage Areas and Scenic Byways program, the only major Federal program encouraging visits to historic places, has been completely eliminated in Congressional committee.
