The British Library Urges Harsh Penalty for E. Forbes Smiley III

The Boston Globe is reporting that the British Library said in documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court:

The maps stolen by Smiley created the dreams of the explorer, merchant and powerful,” the library wrote. “They charted the paths of national expansion and empire building. They marked the rise of British dominance, the origins of a new nation and the demise of a native population. The maps drew the lines between where knowledge ended and imagination began.

Many of the maps have yet to be recovered while others, although recovered, are damaged.

Smiley has admitted to stealing 97 maps over eight years from the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library, the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Harvard University Library and the British Library in London. He is due to be sentenced on September 27, 2006 and faces up to six years in prison with restitution. In documents filed today, the British Library is calling for stiffer sentencing because Smiley:

…systemically looted treasures that told the story of the new world and had survived catastrophic events over the centuries.

[tags]Map Theft, Antique Maps, E. Forbes Smiley[/tags]