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James Earl Fraser. Petitioner resided in Colesville, Maryland,
when the petition was filed in this case.
The facts may be summarized as follows. Petitioner's home
was burglarized some time between January 24-29, 1994. Among the
items stolen was an 18-inch bronze sculpture (the bronze) known
as "The End of the Trail" attributed to James Earl Fraser, a
noted American artist (1876-1953). Petitioner had acquired the
bronze from his father in 1974 by inter vivos gift. In turn, the
father had acquired the bronze from petitioner's grandfather at
the grandfather's death in 1972. The grandfather presumably
purchased the bronze sometime around 1920. Petitioner is unaware
whether a gift tax return was filed in 1974 for the gift.
There were several versions of "The End of the Trail"
produced by Fraser around 1918. The largest version was never
cast; the plaster version, however, is at the Cowboy Hall of Fame
in Oklahoma City. Fraser did not copyright some versions of "The
End of the Trail", and there were various copies made almost from
the date of the original release. While petitioner believes that
the bronze he acquired was an original, he does not know which
version he had or, indeed, whether the bronze, in fact, was an
original Fraser or an old copy.
The parties have been unable to find any sales of 18-inch
bronzes of "The End of the Trail" around 1972. There have been
three sales of 12-inch versions: 1971 for $3,250; 1972 for
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