SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS
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MAP DEALER A CROOK?
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SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS
Gold Member
- May 22, 2005
- 7,205
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J,
worked fine for me, not a subscriber.
S
anyway:
chicagotribune.com >> Local news
Were treasured maps looted?
A dropped knife blade at Yale's rare book and map library was the tip-off that led to the arrest of well-known East Coast map dealer E. Forbes Smiley III , now charged with larceny
By Tonya Maxwell
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 28, 2005
An X-Acto knife blade, dropped last month in a Yale University library, has the Newberry Library in Chicago and other top storehouses of antique maps around the nation scouring their collections to see if pages are missing from priceless old atlases.
The blade had been dropped by E. Forbes Smiley III, a well-known map dealer, at Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, according to court documents. Librarians notified the security guards, who called in the university police. Officers arrested him on campus.
In a pocket of his blazer, officers found a rare print of a map of the early colonies. They also found seven other maps in Smiley's briefcase. They charged Smiley, who lives in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., with larceny of three centuries-old Beinecke maps, which investigators have had appraised at $178,000. He was released on $175,000 bail.
But university investigators, unable to determine the origin of four of the maps, turned the documents over to the FBI. Earlier this month, federal agents called on librarians at other top rare-book institutions--including the Newberry--to delve into their records. They want to know if Smiley, 49, visited their libraries and if maps are missing.
Smiley viewed items at the Newberry, 60 W. Walton St., twice in the last few years, most recently in March, library officials say. The collection, which focuses on the humanities, is open to the public for research, and librarians document what item each patron has requested. The materials must be viewed in the library.
"We're looking at our map collection," said Melissa McAfee, vice president for library services. They began their review earlier this month, she said, and have not determined if items are missing from the collection that boasts about 300,000 maps.
The atlases Smiley viewed contained numerous pages, said Deter Wisniewski, vice president for advancement, and because they are old, it's not unusual for pages to be missing from books. Librarians aren't able to check each page before and after a researcher views it, she said, stressing that Newberry officials are continuing their review.
Libraries review holdings
Stewards of the nation's other famed map collections, including those at the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and Harvard and Yale Universities, say they also are continuing similar internal investigations.
The review at the Boston Public Library is complete, President Bernard Margolis said. Smiley recently visited the library and requested several items, but nothing appears to be missing, he said.
The world of rare-map aficionados, compared to the massive number of coin or stamp collectors, is small and tends to be populated by wealthy people with a passion for history and travel. Dealers like Smiley who have been in the business for decades and can help collectors find early maps tend to be known throughout the community, at least by name.
Smiley and his attorney did not return calls seeking comment, but Smiley described the booming trade, fueled by dabblers who rediscovered maps as decorative pieces, to The New York Times in 1990.
"The problem for dealers is not so much selling as finding the really nice things," Smiley said at the time.
The eight maps Smiley had in his possession at Yale are national treasures representing the Age of Discovery, said W. Graham Arader III, a map dealer based in New York. The prints, made from copper or wood engravings, recount the 16th and 17th Centuries, when European and American explorers were beginning to discover and chart the world.
Their value to collectors has long encouraged some dealers to wield X-Acto knives in the pursuit of money, said Arader, who says he is a longtime critic of Smiley.
"Rich guys are always going to want these things, and they're always going to give them away [to institutions]. All these map dealers have been doing things that are unfortunate," Arader said. "The way people have been doing this, they go in with a razor blade and steal maps."
Arader sued and won against Smiley eight years ago, he said, when an $8,000 check for a purchase bounced. But he is charming, Arader said.
At Yale's Beinecke Library, the case against Smiley began when a librarian noticed the X-Acto knife blade on the floor. She saw Smiley sitting nearby and notified security, according to the arrest warrant. They turned on a security camera, which videotaped Smiley viewing a book and removing a map that appraisers, working with police, have valued at $150,000, according to the arrest warrant.
The security supervisor called university police, and when Smiley collected his briefcase and left, Detective Martin Buonfiglio followed.
Eight maps found .
Buonfiglio asked Smiley if the blade was his, according to the detective's written account. Smiley acknowledged that it was and allowed officers to look through his briefcase, where they found the seven maps. Another, a 1614 colonial print by Jamestown founder Capt. John Smith, was tucked in Smiley's blazer pocket.
Smiley told the detective the prints were his: He brought them to the library to compare their quality against library holdings.
Smiley was charged with three counts of larceny in New Haven, Conn., and detectives sent the remaining maps to the FBI. Four were of unknown origin and could involve jurisdictions in several states. They also turned over the $150,000 print they allege was stolen from the university, officers said.
The case highlights a major, although little discussed problem at major storehouses of cultural treasures. Many don't invest enough in security, said Chicago author Miles Harvey, who wrote the book "The Island of Lost Maps." The book traces the exploits of Gilbert Joseph Bland Jr., believed to have stolen from 19 libraries until his 1995 arrest.
Thefts embarrassing
Once a map is cut out of a book, if its removal is done right, it's very difficult for map dealers or librarians to be able to identify it as a stolen map because these are printed documents, he said. And once valuable items disappear from libraries, the publicity surrounding a crime becomes another problem, he said.
"It's not just embarrassing to lose a map," Harvey said. "But they're also in competition with one another not only for donations of money, but collections of maps. A donor might think twice about turning over a collection to a library in that case."
The other question raised by the Smiley case is that research institutions possibly may have received donations that were stolen from other research institutions.
Smiley, on his Web site, claims to have helped build the map collections of well-known map aficionados, one in New York and another in Boston. Those men later donated their items to their public libraries.
The Norman Leventhal collection of 800 maps helped revitalize the Boston Public Library's map holdings, said Margolis, president of the institution. Leventhal, a now retired real estate developer, was scrupulous in his purchases, and the library again vetted the maps when they were donated last year, Margolis said.
At the Newberry, rare book curator Paul Saenger said the library never bought items from Smiley in his 20 years at the institution. In the rare instance when Newberry has received a stolen item, it is returned to its rightful owner immediately, a common practice among rare book librarians, he said.
----------
[email protected]
worked fine for me, not a subscriber.
S
anyway:
chicagotribune.com >> Local news
Were treasured maps looted?
A dropped knife blade at Yale's rare book and map library was the tip-off that led to the arrest of well-known East Coast map dealer E. Forbes Smiley III , now charged with larceny
By Tonya Maxwell
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 28, 2005
An X-Acto knife blade, dropped last month in a Yale University library, has the Newberry Library in Chicago and other top storehouses of antique maps around the nation scouring their collections to see if pages are missing from priceless old atlases.
The blade had been dropped by E. Forbes Smiley III, a well-known map dealer, at Yale's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, according to court documents. Librarians notified the security guards, who called in the university police. Officers arrested him on campus.
In a pocket of his blazer, officers found a rare print of a map of the early colonies. They also found seven other maps in Smiley's briefcase. They charged Smiley, who lives in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., with larceny of three centuries-old Beinecke maps, which investigators have had appraised at $178,000. He was released on $175,000 bail.
But university investigators, unable to determine the origin of four of the maps, turned the documents over to the FBI. Earlier this month, federal agents called on librarians at other top rare-book institutions--including the Newberry--to delve into their records. They want to know if Smiley, 49, visited their libraries and if maps are missing.
Smiley viewed items at the Newberry, 60 W. Walton St., twice in the last few years, most recently in March, library officials say. The collection, which focuses on the humanities, is open to the public for research, and librarians document what item each patron has requested. The materials must be viewed in the library.
"We're looking at our map collection," said Melissa McAfee, vice president for library services. They began their review earlier this month, she said, and have not determined if items are missing from the collection that boasts about 300,000 maps.
The atlases Smiley viewed contained numerous pages, said Deter Wisniewski, vice president for advancement, and because they are old, it's not unusual for pages to be missing from books. Librarians aren't able to check each page before and after a researcher views it, she said, stressing that Newberry officials are continuing their review.
Libraries review holdings
Stewards of the nation's other famed map collections, including those at the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and Harvard and Yale Universities, say they also are continuing similar internal investigations.
The review at the Boston Public Library is complete, President Bernard Margolis said. Smiley recently visited the library and requested several items, but nothing appears to be missing, he said.
The world of rare-map aficionados, compared to the massive number of coin or stamp collectors, is small and tends to be populated by wealthy people with a passion for history and travel. Dealers like Smiley who have been in the business for decades and can help collectors find early maps tend to be known throughout the community, at least by name.
Smiley and his attorney did not return calls seeking comment, but Smiley described the booming trade, fueled by dabblers who rediscovered maps as decorative pieces, to The New York Times in 1990.
"The problem for dealers is not so much selling as finding the really nice things," Smiley said at the time.
The eight maps Smiley had in his possession at Yale are national treasures representing the Age of Discovery, said W. Graham Arader III, a map dealer based in New York. The prints, made from copper or wood engravings, recount the 16th and 17th Centuries, when European and American explorers were beginning to discover and chart the world.
Their value to collectors has long encouraged some dealers to wield X-Acto knives in the pursuit of money, said Arader, who says he is a longtime critic of Smiley.
"Rich guys are always going to want these things, and they're always going to give them away [to institutions]. All these map dealers have been doing things that are unfortunate," Arader said. "The way people have been doing this, they go in with a razor blade and steal maps."
Arader sued and won against Smiley eight years ago, he said, when an $8,000 check for a purchase bounced. But he is charming, Arader said.
At Yale's Beinecke Library, the case against Smiley began when a librarian noticed the X-Acto knife blade on the floor. She saw Smiley sitting nearby and notified security, according to the arrest warrant. They turned on a security camera, which videotaped Smiley viewing a book and removing a map that appraisers, working with police, have valued at $150,000, according to the arrest warrant.
The security supervisor called university police, and when Smiley collected his briefcase and left, Detective Martin Buonfiglio followed.
Eight maps found .
Buonfiglio asked Smiley if the blade was his, according to the detective's written account. Smiley acknowledged that it was and allowed officers to look through his briefcase, where they found the seven maps. Another, a 1614 colonial print by Jamestown founder Capt. John Smith, was tucked in Smiley's blazer pocket.
Smiley told the detective the prints were his: He brought them to the library to compare their quality against library holdings.
Smiley was charged with three counts of larceny in New Haven, Conn., and detectives sent the remaining maps to the FBI. Four were of unknown origin and could involve jurisdictions in several states. They also turned over the $150,000 print they allege was stolen from the university, officers said.
The case highlights a major, although little discussed problem at major storehouses of cultural treasures. Many don't invest enough in security, said Chicago author Miles Harvey, who wrote the book "The Island of Lost Maps." The book traces the exploits of Gilbert Joseph Bland Jr., believed to have stolen from 19 libraries until his 1995 arrest.
Thefts embarrassing
Once a map is cut out of a book, if its removal is done right, it's very difficult for map dealers or librarians to be able to identify it as a stolen map because these are printed documents, he said. And once valuable items disappear from libraries, the publicity surrounding a crime becomes another problem, he said.
"It's not just embarrassing to lose a map," Harvey said. "But they're also in competition with one another not only for donations of money, but collections of maps. A donor might think twice about turning over a collection to a library in that case."
The other question raised by the Smiley case is that research institutions possibly may have received donations that were stolen from other research institutions.
Smiley, on his Web site, claims to have helped build the map collections of well-known map aficionados, one in New York and another in Boston. Those men later donated their items to their public libraries.
The Norman Leventhal collection of 800 maps helped revitalize the Boston Public Library's map holdings, said Margolis, president of the institution. Leventhal, a now retired real estate developer, was scrupulous in his purchases, and the library again vetted the maps when they were donated last year, Margolis said.
At the Newberry, rare book curator Paul Saenger said the library never bought items from Smiley in his 20 years at the institution. In the rare instance when Newberry has received a stolen item, it is returned to its rightful owner immediately, a common practice among rare book librarians, he said.
----------
[email protected]
MTPanner
Tenderfoot
There are always people out to only make gain for themselves...it sucks, but it happens.
On another note, try having the courthouse misdirect you or tell you that you can not access certain maps, paper, records, etc. It's always a pain in the arse to deal with people that work in an area of which they have no knowledge. You either have to learn on your own, or gain some insight from a mentor or someone willing to share their experience.
On another note, try having the courthouse misdirect you or tell you that you can not access certain maps, paper, records, etc. It's always a pain in the arse to deal with people that work in an area of which they have no knowledge. You either have to learn on your own, or gain some insight from a mentor or someone willing to share their experience.
civilman1
Gold Member
I bet he change's his last name when he get's to prison.....Could have at least posted them here before he got nabbed..
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