A recent article in the Financial Times of London delves into the possible motivations of those who steal rare books, antique maps and manuscripts. “What drives people to steal precious books“, by Tim Richardson, examines the exploits of some recent map thieves, such as E. Forbes Smiley and Farhad Hakimzadeh.

The article points out that for libraries,

…such thefts can be extremely difficult to notice. Detective Sergeant Vernon Rapley, a police officer with 23 years’ experience, has for the past eight years headed the Metropolitan Police’s Art and Antiques Unit.

“Book theft is very hard to quantify because very often pages are cut and it’s not noticed for years,” says Rapley. “Often we come across pages from books [in hauls of recovered property] and we work back from there.”

There is a call for libraries to take particular security measures and for honest library users to be vigilant. The article also touches upon the problem of “insider theft”:

A more recent “trusted insider” case is also one of the most shocking. In February, David Slade, a respected Bristol-based dealer and former president of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association, was jailed for 28 months for stealing 68 books worth £230,000 from Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, who had engaged him in 2001 to catalogue part of the family collection at Ascott, Buckinghamshire.

[tags]e. forbes smiley, map theft, antique maps [/tags]

A 1612 map of Canada (then “New France”) by Samuel de Champlain is to be auctioned by Southeby’s in England next month. The map is billed by Sotheby’s as “perhaps the most important single map” in Canadian history. Harvard University experts have determined that the particular copy of the rare antique map is not the copy discovered to be missing from Harvard’s rare-book library in 2005, presumed stolen by E. Forbes Smiley. There was some concern by Harvard that the map in question may have been the stolen copy owned by Harvard.

The antique map of Canada by Samuel de Champlain is expected to fetch $80,000 for its undisclosed owner.

Related news items:

• Sotheby’s London Will Sell Perhaps The Most Important Single Map In The History Of Canada
• Harvard eyes 1612 Canada map in auction
• Rare map of Canada under scrutiny after Harvard thefts
• Champlain map cleared for auction
• Champlain map ready for auction 

[tags]antique maps, samuel de champlain, new france, antique map auctions, antique map of canada, E. Forbes Smiley[/tags]

Antique map thief E. Forbes Smiley, who admitted stealing about 100 rare antique maps, was ordered today to pay $2.3 million USD in restitution to his victims around the United States and Britain.

Read the full story here.

[tags]E. Forbes Smiley, map theft[/tags]

Sorry for passing this along so late in the game, but I have been playing “catch-up” with antique map news.

Please join us this Saturday, March 10th at 2:30 pm for our next meeting at the New York Public Library.

“United States of America v. Edward Forbes Smiley III.”

Our featured speaker is New York Map Society member and staff write for the Hartford Courant, Ms. Kim Martineau.

Ms. Martineau began her reports on the Smiley case immediately after his x-acto knife was discovered on the floor at the Yale University Library. Since then, she ha covered the continuing investigation, and was present when Smiley was sentenced. At this month’s meeting, she’ll offer members and guests an overview of the complete case.

NOTE: This month’s meeting will be in the lower-level Auditorium in the Library’s South Court Celeste Bartos Education Center. Stairway and elevator are just inside the door to the Education Center.

[tags]New York Map Society, Antique Maps, E. Forbes Smiley, map theft[/tags]

Although the Boston Library’s Norman B. Leventhal Map Center saw 34 of its maps stolen by E. Forbes Smiley III recovered, library officials say 36 of its rare antique maps are still missing. The maps still missing include a 1613 map of New France drawn by explorer Samuel de Champlain, and a 1787 Virginia map from a book by Thomas Jefferson.

All of the three dozen maps still missing were part of books or atlases Smiley used at the library in recent years, said Ronald Grim, curator of maps, but it is impossible to tell if the maps were still in the books at the time Smiley used them. 

Read the full story at the Boston Globe online.

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

The Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division and Rare Books Division of the New York Public Library has, in fact, posted two lists of missing maps. In addition to  the list of antique maps recently discovered as missing posted yesterday on this blog, the library has also made available a list of maps discovered as missing from their books. Similar lists have been posted by other libraries victimized by E. Forbes Smiley and/or other thieves.

Regarding the two lists, Alice C. Hudson, Chief, The Lionel Pincus & Princess Firyal Map Division states:

We are hoping that with these lists, if you  see one of the maps in an antiquarian dealer’s catalog printed within the last 5 years or so,  for example, or on a wall somewhere, or a display case, that you will inform us, so we may pursue our property.  I am sure all the other Libraries involved have posted their lists for much the same purpose. The goal is to at least attempt to make our collections whole, again, where possible.

Via Maps-L and MapHist. 

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