The Map Thief

by Michael Blanding

  Sir Robert Dudley: Burden, Mapping of North America, (266, 278, 279, 280), 340–341, 349–364; Derek Wilson, The Uncrowned Kings of England, 357–370; Wilson, Her Majesty’s Captain; O.A.W. Dilke and Margaret S. Dilke, “Sir Robert Dudley’s Contribution to Cartography,” The Map Collector 19 (June 1982), 10–14; Chris Skidmore, Death and the Virgin Queen, 26–29, 76–81, 308–312.

  Smiley checked out the BPL’s copy: Robert Dudley, Dell’ Arcano Del Mare, 1647, Boston Public Library, G1059 .D84 1647; “Dudley, Robert,” Smiley inventory #53, LMC archives.

  CHAPTER 10

  Norman Leventhal announced: Catherine Foster, “Center to show off library’s map collection,” The Boston Globe, September 26, 2003.

  celebration that November: Dana Bisbee, “Social scene; Joslin Center benefactors sparkle in diamond setting,” Boston Herald, November 17, 2003.

  “the old kind of arrogance”: Krieger interview.

  friends noticed the changes too: Slater, Statt, and Von Elgg interviews.

  Smiley refused to respond to requests: Town of Sebec, Selectmen’s Meeting Notes, June 16, 2003; October 20, 2003; December 1, 2003; January 14, 2004.

  “Do we put them in jail for noncompliance?”: Jessica Lee, “Sebec selectmen may pursue consent agreement with Sebec Village Shops’ owner,” The Piscataquis Observer, March 3, 2004.

  handed down her decision . . . “goal in the village”: Decision and Order, E. Forbes Smiley III v. The Inhabitants of the Town of Sebec, et al., Piscataquis County Superior Court, Docket No. AP-02-02, March 25, 2004; Jessica Lee, “Court decision sides with town,” The Piscataquis Observer, April 7, 2004.

  “little oasis has been created”: Letter to the Editor, The Piscataquis Observer, April 7, 2004.

  new garage on their property: Kim Martineau, “From life among the elite to charges of theft,” Hartford Courant, October 25, 2005.

  Smiley woke to the sounds of a bulldozer . . . tearing up his land: Smiley interview, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, August 2011; Andrew Taylor, interview with the author; Jessica Lee, “Invasive weed at root of Sebec controversy,” The Piscataquis Observer, July 23, 2003; Jessica Lee, “Sebec holds annual town meeting,” The Piscataquis Observer, August 13, 2003.

  Access couldn’t have been easier . . . farthest from the circulation desk: Hudson interview.

  Melish map of the United States: John Melish, “Map of the United States with the Contiguous British & Spanish Possessions,” 1816, New York Public Library, Map Div. 01-11488.

  Collet map of North Carolina: John Collet, “A Compleat Map of North Carolina from an Actual Survey by Captn. Collet, Governor of Fort Thurston,” 1770, New York Public Library, Map Division.

  resold it to San Diego map dealer . . . “in our collection”: Barry Ruderman and Alice Hudson, interviews with the author.

  Thornton map: John Thornton, “A New Map of East and West New Jarsey: Being an Exact Survey Taken by Mr. Wolridge,” 1702–1707, New York Public Library, Map Div. 02-295 [No. 98].

  Des Barres’s maritime atlas: Joseph F.W. Des Barres, Atlantic Neptune (Lenox Copy), 1780, New York Public Library, Atlas cases (Des Barres, J.F.W. Atlantic Neptune).

  William Faden’s Revolutionary War atlas: William Faden, North American Atlas, 1777, New York Public Library, Atlas cases (Faden, W. North American atlas).

  two editions of Samuel de Champlain’s Voyages: Samuel de Champlain, Les Voyages . . . , 1613, *KB 1613 (Champlain, S. de. Voyages dv sievr de Champlain Xaintongeois); Samuel de Champlain, Les Voyages . . . , 1632, *KB 1632 (Champlain, S. de. Voyages de la Novvelle France occidentale (P. Le-Mvr).

  auction at Swann Galleries: Arader interview; Receipt from Swann Galleries, December 9, 2004; “Maps & Atlases, Natural History, Historical Prints & Ephemera,” Public Auction Sale 2027, Swann Galleries, December 9, 2004.

  “He is a crook”: Graham Arader and anonymous collector, e-mail exchange, January 24, 2005.

  demolished the home in the summer: Kim Martineau, “Map of a crime: the arrest of antique map dealer E. Forbes Smiley III has thrown the staid world of libraries and collectors into turmoil,” Hartford Courant, July 17, 2005; William Finnegan, “A Theft in the Library,” The New Yorker, October 17, 2005.

  contract . . . to build a house: Statement of Account, David Pizzano, Dukes County Registry of Deeds, Book 1050, 105.

  seemed foolish, even for Smiley: Slater and Statt interviews.

  proposed building a private preschool: Chris Burrell, “Task force team presents Chilmark preschool plan to bolster enrollments,” Vineyard Gazette, July 12, 2004; Articles of Organization, Friends of the Chilmark Pre-School, July 20, 2004, Massachusetts Secretary of State filing no. 200477433080.

  began looking for an exit strategy . . . unable to go back to bed: Smiley interview.

  new modular home: Nelson Sigelman, “Chilmark man pleads guilty to stealing valuable, antique maps from Yale University,” Martha’s Vineyard Times, June 29, 2006; Martineau, “From life among the elite.”

  “left naked to the scrutiny”: Forbes Smiley, “Our house will disappear soon,” letter to the editor, Martha’s Vineyard Times, February 17, 2005.

  “Money was no object”: David Pizzano, interview with the author.

  tax lien: Federal tax lien, $57,063, January 20, 2005, Case no. 209805705.

  had officially launched: Editorial, “Planning a map room,” The Boston Globe, October 6, 2004.

  “Smiley knows this collection”: Ron Grim, interview with the author.

  The American Pilot: Cobb and Krieger, Mapping Boston, 49–52. Donald A. Heald, Rare Books, Maps, and Prints, “[NORMAN, John]—William NORMAN (1748–1817): A Chart of South Carolina and Georgia,” http://www.donaldheald.com/maps/North%20America/maps_list_01.php?cat=North%20America&aut=South&sortfield=&pg=4.

  Boston had four of them: John Norman, The American Pilot, Boston, 1794, Boston Public Library, G1106.P5 N6 1794x; William Norman, The American Pilot, Boston, 1798, Boston Public Library, G1106.P5 N6 1798; William Norman, The American Pilot, Boston, ca. 1798, Boston Public Library, G1106.P5 N6 1798.2x; Andrew Allen, The American Pilot, Boston, 1816, Boston Public Library, G1106.P5 A4 1816x.

  examined the last copy: Ron Grim, “Subject: inventory of missing items from publications used by Smiley at the Boston Public Library,” January 3, 2006, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center (LMC) archives.

  took it down . . . happy to purchase it: Newman interview.

  went to Boston to view . . . check bounced: Grim interview; Ronald E. Grim, letter to Christopher Schmeisser, August 29, 2006, LMC archives.

  avoided the Harvard Map Collection: David Cobb, interview with the author.

  copy of Champlain’s Voyages: Samuel de Champlain, Les Voyages . . . , Paris, 1612, Harvard College Library, Can 205.4*.

  travelogues from several other: Claude Dablon, Relation . . . de la Compagnie de Jesus en la Nouvelle France . . . , Paris, 1672, Harvard College Library, Can 236.70*; Claude Dablon, Relation . . . de la Compagnie de Jesus en la Nouvelle France . . . , Paris, 1673, Harvard College Library, Can 236.71; Chrétien Le Clercq, Establissement de la foy dans la Nouvelle France . . . , 1691, Harvard College Library, *FC6.L4964.691pb; Marc Lescarbot, Histoire de la Nouvelle France . . . , 1609, Harvard College Library, *FC6.L5635.609hab.

  copy of Hubbard’s book: William Hubbard, A Narrative of the Troubles with Indians in New-England . . . , 1677, *AC6.H8613.677na (A).

  avoided going to the Beinecke: E.C. Schroeder, interview with the author.

  book by German geographer: Johann Huttich, Novus Orbis Regionum . . . , Paris, 1532, Yale University Library, CE141 +N68.

  unusual “double-cordiform” map: Shirley, Mapping of the World, (66, Pl. 60); Richard B. Arkway, Inc., Catalog 54: World Maps, (11); Oronce Fine, “Nova et Integra Vniversi Orbis Descriptio,” Paris, 1532, Yale University Library, CE141 +N68.

  brought it
to Paul Cohen . . . never did: Schroeder interview; Harry Newman and Paul Cohen, interviews with the author; Smiley interview.

  valued at more than $40,000: Antique Map Price Record database search.

  even older book: Hernán Cortés, Praeclara Ferdinãdi. Cortesii de noua maris Oceani Hyspania narratio . . . , Nuremberg, 1524, Yale University Library; Taylor, World of Gerard Mercator, 58.

  map of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán: Hernán Cortés, Untitled (Mexico City/Gulf of Mexico), 1524, Yale University Library, Taylor, World of Gerard Mercator, 58; Barbara E. Mundy, “Mapping the Aztec Capital: The 1524 Nuremberg Map of Tenochtitlan, Its Sources and Meanings,” Imago Mundi, Vol. 50, 1998.

  already paid . . . $200,000 more: Pizzano interview.

  worth only $50,000 to 60,000 at most: Antique Map Price Record database search; Martin Buonfiglio, affidavit, arrest warrant, New Haven Police Department, July 10, 2005.

  Arkway had sold a copy . . . $125,000: Antique Map Price Record database search; Buonfiglio affidavit, arrest warrant.

  guard opened a door . . . leave the library: Beinecke Library security video, June 8, 2005; notes by Lynn Ieronimo, head of security, Beinecke Library; Cordes interview; audio recording of Ellen Cordes in Z702 Is for Book Thief: The Role of Technical Services in Collection Security, 2011 RBMS Preconference, Rare Books and Manuscript Section, Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, http://www.rbms.info/conferences/preconfdocs/2011/Talks/SeminarA.mp3.

  “wind face”: Dennis Reinhartz, Art of the Map, 10.

  CHAPTER 11

  “dropped a file on my desk”: Stephen Kelleher, interview with the author.

  share of war stories: Damon Katz, e-mail to the author, November 27, 2013; Justin Pritchard, “148 students graduate at Bishop Feehan in Attleboro,” Providence Journal-Bulletin, June 5, 1994; Doug Allan, “Pizza parlor fined for serving minors,” Providence Journal-Bulletin, March 18, 1999; Doane Hulick, “Driver fired on by police held at ACI,” Providence Journal-Bulletin, January 30, 2001; “Weddings,” Providence Journal-Bulletin, September 9, 2001; Richard C. Dujardin, “Police promoted, honored for valor,” Providence Journal-Bulletin, March 1, 2002; Gregory Smith, “Two injured when car rams cruiser,” Providence Journal-Bulletin, July 2, 2003.

  drove from the New Haven . . . theft a federal offense: Kelleher interview.

  the de Jode map: Gerard de Jode, “Vniversi Orbis Sev Terreni Globi . . . ,” from Speculum Orbis Terrarum, Antwerp, 1578, Yale University Library, 1976 Folio 2.

  wormholes: LiveScience, “Medieval books hold suprising fossil record,” MSNBC.com, November 21, 2012.

  Beinecke’s copy of the Speculum: Gerard de Jode, Speculum Orbis Terrarum, Antwerp, 1578, Yale University Library, 1976 Folio 2.

  Theft of Major Artwork Act: 18 US Code, sec. 668, “Theft of major artwork”; Lynne Chaffinch, “The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Art Theft Program,” The Silver Lining: Coping with Theft, Vandalism, Deterioration, and Bad Press, Library of Congress publications, http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/presidents/chap10.html.

  only one of eight maps: Buonfiglio affidavit.

  referred him to dealer Bill Reese: Kelleher interview; Schroeder and Reese interviews.

  post to ExLibris: Everett Wilkie, “Recent Map Thefts,” MapHist Listserv, July 6, 2005.

  first appearance: Kim Martineau, “Antique map theft charged: dealer’s bail set in incidents at Yale Library,” Hartford Courant, July 9, 2005; “Casting words: on the library crimes beat,” GSLIScast, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, Simmons College, February 26, 2007, http://gslis.simmons.edu/podcasts; Eric Gershon, “Map dealer charged in theft,” Cape Cod Times, July 10, 2005; Jeff Muskus, “Art dealer charged in Beinecke thefts,” Yale Daily News, July 12, 2005; Nelson Sigelman, “Chilmark man charged in Yale library map thefts,” Martha’s Vineyard Times, July 14, 2005.

  “Da Vinci with a carving knife”: Kim Martineau, “Map of a crime: the arrest of antique map dealer E. Forbes Smiley III, left, has thrown the staid world of libraries and collectors into turmoil,” Hartford Courant, July 17, 2005.

  “made me crazy”: Ibid.

  Smiley’s friend Scott Slater . . . supported by crime: Scott Slater and Felicity Slater interviews.

  residents in Sebec were similarly sent reeling: Mallet and Lello interviews.

  Moriartys . . . celebrated: Kim Martineau, “From life among the elite to charges of theft,” Hartford Courant, October 25, 2005.

  stunned, unable to breathe: Hudson interview.

  renovations to Room 117: Glenn Collins, “Restoring vivid palette of library’s map chamber,” The New York Times, December 12, 2005.

  called Kelleher immediately . . . “consider yourself at fault”: Ron Grim, “For the record,” notes from phone conversation with Steve Kelleher, July 8, 2005; handwritten notes from phone conversation with Steve Kelleher, July 8, 2005; both from Norman B. Leventhal Map Center (LMC) archives at the Boston Public Library.

  fielding calls from other libraries: Kelleher interview.

  insisted he hire a private attorney: Slater and Statt interviews.

  “You’re cooked” . . . “best to answer”: Smiley interview. (Reeve did not respond to multiple requests for comment.)

  devil’s bargain . . . for the federal government: Kelleher interview; Christopher Schmeisser, interview with the author; United States’ Memorandum in Aid of Sentencing (22), September 20, 2006, US v. Edward Forbes Smiley, US District Court, District of Connecticut, Crim No. 3:06CR189, 6–8.

  page through thousands of call slips . . . Grim later joked: Grim interview.

  two months and one hundred hours: Boston Public Library, “Impact of Smiley theft on rare books department,” undated, LMC archives.

  ten items missing: Boston Public Library, “Status of Smiley inventory,” August 5, 2005, LMC archives.

  dozen missing maps: Grim interview.

  identified four books: Jim Akerman and Kelly McGrath, interviews with the author.

  bad copy of John Smith’s map: Ralph Hall, “Virginia,” in Gerard Mercator, Historia Mundi, 1636, Newberry Library, 3880 1636.H3.

  Thornton map of South Carolina: John Thornton, “New map of the Cheif [sic] Rivers, Bayes, Creeks, Harbours, and Settlements of South Carolina,” in Frederik de Wit, Atlas, 1694, Newberry Library, VAULT oversize Ayer 135 .W8 A, no. [141] (PrCt).

  “lowest of the low”: Tonya Maxwell, “The story of a map quest, a notable dealer’s arrest—and now, a Chicago twist,” Chicago Tribune, August 6, 2005.

  “Full disclosure will be embarrassing”: Robert Karrow, “A plea for full disclosure,” MapHist Listserv, August 13, 2005.

  Alexander map of Canada (1624): William Alexander, untitled, from An Encouragement to Colonies, London, 1624, British Library, G. 7139; Burden, Mapping of North America, (208), 257–258.

  Best map of world (1578): George Best, untitled, from A True Discourse of the Late Voyages of Discouerie . . . , London, 1578, British Library, C.13.a.9; Kim Martineau and Lisa Chedekel, “Map thefts not so rare after all: several more top-tier libraries report visits by accused dealer,” Hartford Courant, August 5, 2005.

  Apian map of world (1520): Peter Apian, “Tipus Orbis Universalis iuxta Ptolomei Cosmographi Traditonem . . . ,” from Caius Julius Solinus, Ioannis Camertis . . . , Vienna, 1520, British Library, C.32.m.5(2); Lester, Fourth Part of the World, 376–377; Schwartz, Putting “America” on the Map, 127, 285.

  provenance of this map: British Library, victim impact statement; British Library’s Sentencing Memorandum (19), US v. Smiley, 10–11.

  only person who had looked at all these books: Peter Barber, Judith Barnes, and Bob Goldman interviews.

  Boston Public also went public: Jenna Russell, “Dealer faces probe in map thefts: ‘perfect gentleman’ is charged in Conn.,”
The Boston Globe, August 9, 2005; Christina Silva and Jenna Russell, “More maps turn up on list of missing,” The Boston Globe, August 10, 2005.

  Smiley, too, kept quiet: Maxwell, “The story of a map quest.”

  finally respond to the charges: Transcript, State of Connecticut v. Edward Forbes Smiley III, Superior Court, Judicial District of New Haven, Recorded by Tonia Speringo, August 9, 2005; Matt Apuzzo, “Collector pleads innocent to charges of stealing rare maps from library at Yale University,” Associated Press, August 9, 2005; Kim Martineau, “Map searches continue as expert pleads not guilty,” Hartford Courant, August 10, 2005; William Finnegan, “A theft in the library,” The New Yorker, October 17, 2005.

  biannual International Conference: Finnegan, “A theft in the library.”

  rumors swirled about: Anonymous author interviews. Smiley said the rumor about his son was untrue. Ashley Baynton-Williams and Barry MacLean declined comment on the facsimile rumor.

  “personal betrayal was worse”: Newman interview.

  loudest cries came from Tony Campbell . . . dealers could know what to watch out for: Tony Campbell, interview with the author; Tony Campbell, “Issues arising out of the Smiley affair,” post to MapHist Listserv, August 12, 2005.

  filed into the third-floor trustees’ room . . . share their experiences: “Meeting of curators of map collections at public libraries and universities,” September 28, 2005, LMC archives.

  Grim had completed his own review: “Subject inventory of missing items from publications used by Smiley at the Boston Public Library,” October 27, 2005, LMC archives.

  Smiley had looked . . . during that period: Ron Grim, memorandum to Bernard Margolis, Ruth Kownal, and Roni Pick, May 8, 2006, LMC archives.

  sent the list to the FBI: Ron Grim, e-mail to Tony Campbell, June 22, 2006, LMC archives.

  since Kelleher had started . . . the dealers themselves: Kelleher interview.

  All three dealers . . . acquiesced: Kelleher, Schmeisser, and Newman interviews; Cohen and Burden interviews; Kim Martineau, “Rare documents going digital; Yale may join libraries using technology against theft of originals,” January 15, 2006.