The Inside WarForensics
A dim archive room. A signed agreement lies on a desk beside a pen, a candle and a notebook of questions; a chalkboard lists what was offered and asks at what cost; filing drawers by decade line the wall, and a red-lit passage leads away into the dark.

Exhibit

Devil’s Den

Case files: 150
Range: 1931–2026
Artists: 92
Undated: 0

Criterion: a transaction. Something offered, accepted, collected. The word is not the criterion. Files naming the Devil without a transaction are excluded. Files recording a transaction without naming him are included.

First file: DD-000. The Who, “Bargain.” Recipient unnamed.

Distribution by decade: 1930s 4. 1960s 2. 1970s 25. 1980s 19. 1990s 22. 2000s 22. 2010s 42. 2020s 14.

Each file states the offer, the price, and the holder of the receipt.

The set is open.

Earliest files record an offer received. The most recent record a seller sought.