Memorandum Against the Imposition of Any Duty on Original Works of Art.

New York: N.p., N.d.. Soft cover. Good. Octavo. 27pp. Wrappers. With two and a half pages of typescript material relating to the case signed by Quinn. John Quinn (1870-1924) was a corporate lawyer in New York, who is best remembered as a major patron of modern art, and a significant collector of British and Irish literature. He was one of the organizers and the spokesperson for the 1913 Armory Show (The International Exhibition of Modern Art) in New York. Coincidentally, in the same year, he convinced the United States Congress to overturn the 1909 Tariff Law, which retained the duty on foreign works of art less than twenty years old and which discouraged collecting modern European art. The Memorandum was the legal brief presented on behalf of museums, art leagues, art associations, and art dealers. The attached two and a half pages are from a thirteen-page letter, where he refers to the brief, his success with the United States Senate, and his forthcoming fight, on the same topic, in the United States House. He closes his letter confidently with the following words, "That fight is still to be won, but I think I shall win it.