The MSN list circulated, on 7 July 2005, the < http://te.verweg.com/pipermail/msn-list/2005-July/001156.html > FBI
Alert/Request for Information about Smiley's apprehension at Yale a month earlier on 8 June. See also the
full text of the 23 June 2005 Arrest Warrant.
For full texts of the following documents that were released after Smiley's court appearance, a year later, on
22 June 2006, see links provided by the Map Room blog:
The single-count indictment to which Smiley pled guilty (two pages, 28 KB)
The full text of the plea agreement (13 pages, 140 KB)
Exhibit A, a table listing the 97 maps Smiley admits to stealing, their owners, and whether
they’ve been recovered - five are listed as not recovered, five are listed as unrecoverable,
the rest have been returned (six pages, 67 KB)
Exhibit B, a table listing the 18 maps that the prosecutor could prove Smiley stole without
his cooperation, along with their owners, whether they’ve been recovered (one not, two
unrecoverable) and - differently - the government’s estimated value of those maps (one page, 18
KB)
Other official documents:
The text of the 22 June 2006 courtroom Press Release has been mounted here
The New York Public Library's < http://legacy.www.nypl.org/research/chss/map/VictimImpactStatement082406.pdf >
Victim Impact Statement (24 August 2006), and a later <
http://legacy.www.nypl.org/research/chss/map/VictimImpactStatement092806.pdf > version (28 September
2006)
Defendant’s Memorandum in Aid of Sentencing (a 39-page pdf document, 18 September 2006 - with 8-pages of attached documents). This
was available from the website of the Hartford Courant but now (March 2007) can be bought from the court, via its PACER System
The following libraries were named in court on 22 June 2006, as having had maps stolen by
Smiley though not all are listed in the 97 'Smiley Admissions':
{Boston,
Massachusetts Historical Society (?) [mentioned in a court document but not in the list of 97
stolen maps - presumably a mistake; though see below under 30 June 2006]}
Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University, Houghton Library [see list of missing maps released 1 August
2006; and a follow-up list on 10 October 2007,
identifying the three maps that had not been recovered; which was modified (presumably in October-November 2008) with the addition of a photograph of the Champlain map -
on which see the Theft News page.
Chicago, Newberry Library
New Haven, Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library [see 'List of maps discovered
missing in June 2005', released on 28 September 2006]; and Sterling Memorial Library [see general list of missing maps,
released 19 July 2006, and apparently updated subsequently]
New York Public Library [see the lists, posted on 3 October 2006, for, respectively the Map Division and Rare Books:
'Missing Antiquarian Maps' and < http://legacy.www.nypl.org/research/chss/map/rarebooks.html > 'Rare Books Division
Missing Maps' [i.e. maps missing from books]
London, British Library [see the list of three further missing maps, posted to MapHist
on 9 October 2006]
Chronologically ordered lists were published in Michael Blanding, The Map Thief (New York: Gotham Books, 2014),
pp.223-48. Appendix A comprises 'Maps Smiley admitted stealing', Appendix B 'Additional maps libraries reported missing'.
Among the 97 whose theft was admitted to by Smiley the breakdown was as follows: Yale, Sterling
Library (11), Beinecke Library (9); New York Public Library Rare Book Division (11), Map
Division (21); Newberry Library (2); Harvard, Houghton Library (8); British Library (1); Boston
Public Library (34).
What follows is a regularly updated list (latest first) of selected newspaper articles, many of which are
syndicated widely. Be aware that newspaper articles tend to remain available online for a
short time only, or are removed to an archive for which you have to register. Since such
archives are unlikely to be accessible to search engines, the details of these articles will be
left so as to help in an archival search. To avoid dead links, the web addresses below are
given as text rather than as active links.
There has been much discussion on the MapHist list, which can be retrieved
via its archive.
Many of the links below point to messages sent to the ExLibris list. In June 2009, the list's
archive was transferred from Stanford University Libraries to the Foundation of the American Institute for
Conservation. Although the intention was to make the archive "publicly available again as
soon as possible" this has not yet happened (February 2011). Those links no longer work but they
have been left on the page in case they become functional again later.
22 June 2006. Smiley confesses in court to theft of 97 maps
27 September 2006. Smiley sentenced by a federal judge
13 October 2006. Smiley sentenced by a state judge
4 January 2007. Smiley starts his prison sentence
22 May 2007. The amount Smiley was ordered to pay in restitution , originally set at $1.9 million, was raised to $2.3 million.
For later references to the Smiley case see under Theft News
< http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May22/0,4670,StolenMaps,00.html > 'Map Thief Ordered to Pay $2.3M' (by John
Christoffersen for the Associated Press, 22 May 2007) - 'A man who admitted stealing about 100 rare old maps from libraries was
ordered Tuesday to pay $2.3 million in restitution to his victims around the country and abroad. E. Forbes Smiley III, 50, was
sentenced in September to 3 1/2 years in prison. He was tentatively ordered to pay restitution of $1.9 million, but that figure
was changed after the parties worked to recover the maps and assess their value ... The money will go to map dealers and
libraries in Connecticut, New York, Boston, Maine and Britain. "It's bittersweet. It doesn't mean that they're going to get the
money," said John Koegel, an attorney who represents some of the dealers. Whether Smiley's victims will receive the money depends
on his ability to pay after he gets out of prison and the government's ability to sell his assets, Koegel said. Prosecutors said
in court papers that 96 maps have been recovered and four remain missing. Authorities said they cannot be certain whether Smiley,
of Martha's Vineyard, has told them of all the stolen maps ...' [For a fuller version see the Boston Globe piece <
https://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2007/05/22/map_thief_ordered_to_pay_23_million_in_restitution/ > - of
which the full text is also available via ExLibris].
'On the Library
Crimes Beat' - a 42-minute podcast of a talk Kim Martineau of the Hartford Courant gave at
Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science on 26 February 2007 about her coverage of
the Smiley case. It can be streamed on the web or downloaded as an MP3.
< http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-maptale.artjan24,0,6912730.story?coll=hc-headlines-life
> 'Map With A Legend: Rare Woodcut Of Aztec City Finds Its Way Back To Yale'
(by Kim Martineau in the 'Hartford Courant', 24 January 2007) - describing more twists to the
Smiley saga. Most of the article is about the map of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan,
illustrating a letter from the explorer Hernán Cortés, published in 1524. Forbes Smiley admitted
to stealing an example from Harvard but Yale's Beinecke Library reported another example
missing. Crucially, they posted a detailed scan of theirs. This showed sufficient unique
details to be recognised by the Manhattan dealer Harry Newman of the Old Print Shop, who had
bought it from Smiley, for a sum "in the mid-five figures." The map was returned to Yale, and
went on exhibition.
'The case is closed, but another mystery remains. Smiley confessed to
stealing Harvard's copy of the Cortes map, but no one knows how two facsimile reproductions
found their way into the book the map came from. Harvard discovered the two facsimiles - and
its missing map - after Smiley's arrest. New York Public Library, it turns out, is missing a Cortes facsimile. Did Smiley steal it and
put it in the Harvard book to disguise his earlier theft? If so, what about the second
facsimile? Four maps handled by Smiley have turned up since his sentencing, including Harvard's 1578 world
map by British explorer George Best and New York's 1535 world map by Carthusian monk Gregor
Reisch. Federal authorities insist Smiley cooperated in good faith. A U.S. attorney's spokesman
said he couldn't comment on whether charges might be brought, but it appears unlikely.' [The
full text also available via ExLibris].
The ExLibris archive for 2006, which affects several of the entries below, has been removed
(April 2009). It is hoped that this will not be permanent
< http://yaledailynews.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=34501 > 'Libraries increase
security. Recent thefts of rare maps prompt extensive study of libraries’ security measures'
(by Steven Siegel in the Yale Daily News, 30 November 2006) - referring to the security review
carried out by Yale in the wake of Forbes Smiley's thefts, leading to likely measures such as more
effective CCTV and reduction of the backlog of uncatalogued materials. As pointed out by Alice
Prochaska, Yale's Librarian: 'Making thefts known is now considered a good practice and dealers
and collectors have a place to look to verify that the items they purchase are not missing from
a library's holdings.'
< https://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2006/11/boston_library.html
> 'Boston library says more maps are missing' (by Jenna Russell in the 'Boston Globe', 15
November 2006) - 'Thirty-six rare antique maps with an estimated value of close to $1 million
are missing from the collection of the Boston Public Library, in addition to 34 stolen maps
that were recovered during an investigation of confessed map thief E. Forbes Smiley III ... 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 ... The Boston library is not alone in
discovering other missing maps besides those Smiley has confessed to taking. Harvard University
has estimated that five maps are missing from its libraries, in addition to the eight maps it
expects to get back in the Smiley case. Yale University has released a list of more than 70
maps that are still missing. The New York Public Library issued its own list of about 45
unrecovered maps.'
'Boston Public Library Identifies Missing Maps', 14 November 2006. 'A list of
36 maps currently classified as missing from its Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Rare Books,
and Special Collections departments'.
In replying to a post to
MapHist, 20 October 2006, as to whether Smiley had removed library stamps, Alice Hudson
provided the following detail: 'The stamps were razored off, and then the damage repaired with
some paper-like material and a trowel.' It is useful to get a precise description as little
detail of that kind has emerged.
< http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctsmiley1014.artoct14,0,5927144.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'Map Thief Gets 5 Years' (from the Hartford Courant, 14 October 2006) - 'A state judge sentenced E. Forbes
Smiley III, the Martha's Vineyard map thief, to the maximum five years in prison Friday, a move
that was largely symbolic and unlikely to add time to the 3½-year sentence Smiley has received
in federal court ... Judge Richard Damiani faulted the federal government for taking what
Smiley told them as "gospel truth," joining the chorus of voices expressing disappointment in
the investigation. "The problem is they're taking the word of a thief," he said.' [The full
text also available via ExLibris].
Smiley was sentenced by the state judge on 13 October 2006, to a concurrent term
'Hartford Courant: String Him Up!' (by Jonathan Crowe on the Map Room blog,
6 October 2006) - commenting on an editorial in the <
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-mapthief.artoct05,0,5101898.story?coll=hc-headlines-editorials
> Hartford Courant (5 October). Like most other coverage, this had
deplored the leniency of Smiley's sentence. Instead, Crowe takes a pragmatic view, suggesting that, if
the main concern is to recover material in future, this approach is more likely to achieve it.
"There is, in other words, a reason why cooperation merits consideration in sentencing. But,
you know, if you want your pound of flesh instead, go right ahead. It’s that or your maps back.
You’re not going to get both."
< http://www.antiquesandthearts.com/2006-10-03__11-18-33.html > 'Mapping A New Future:
Smiley Is Sentenced' (by Laura Beach in 'Antiques and the Arts Online', 3 October 2006) -
before entering 'a minimum security unit of Fort Devens prison in central Massachusetts' on 4
January, Smiley has agreed to 'spend the next several months helping the government wrap up the details in
the case ... Smiley's arcane knowledge was essential to the government's recovery of 90 maps.
Two more maps are in the possession of collectors and are being negotiated. Six maps are
currently classified as unrecoverable ... "While I've met with many defendant cooperators in
many cases, this defendant was one of the most organized. The defendant and the defense were
extremely helpful," Assistant US Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser told Judge Arterton ... In
his sentencing memorandum of September 20, Schmeisser touched on one of the case's most
sensitive questions: how the maps could have been stolen in the first place and why libraries
often failed to notice that they were missing. Wrote the prosecutor, "On more than one
occasion, a library asserted a map had been stolen by Smiley only to find the map a week or
even several months later in the library's collection. In a number of instances, the libraries
found maps missing from volumes that Smiley had not accessed, suggesting again either
cataloging problems or other thieves." One factor complicating the investigation, said
Schmeisser, was that none of the stolen maps, together worth as much as $3 million, was unique,
except to the extent that distinct markings confirmed its removal from a particular book or
atlas ... While the libraries have largely recovered their maps, the dealers who assisted the
government in its recovery effort by buying maps back from collectors are not likely to be
fully reimbursed. Said Schmeisser, "Several of these individuals are close to bankruptcy
because they did not want their collectors to be harmed. They more than anyone will be
financially harmed." ... "One lingering question," said the assistant US attorney, was whether
Smiley was "telling the whole truth but not the whole story. The government's best assessment
is that he is making the best effort to be truthful, but at the margin there may be a theft
that he cannot recall and thus a map never returned" '. The piece includes a photograph of
Smiley with his attorney, Richard A. Reeve.
< http://legacy.www.nypl.org/research/chss/map/rarebooks.html > New York
Public Library 'Missing Rare Books' [via Maps-L and the
Map Room, 3 October 2006] - the second of an uncoordinated pair of websites [see next
entry], this, despite its heading, is a list of rare books that are missing their maps. Again,
there is no mention of Smiley though, in this case, all the maps are of the type taken by him.
The list itemises 12 maps, the last of which is the 'Lord Baltimore' map, stolen by Smiley but
not recovered. Neither list indicates the possible range of dates when the maps might have gone
missing, and no information is given about copy-specific features or library markings.
< http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wnpr/local-wnpr-531786.mp3 > [via <
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wnpr/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=973916 > 'Respected map scholar and thief
sentenced' (by Diane Orson for < http://www.cpbn.org/ > Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network - "Where we live",
29 September 2006) - apparently featuring William Reese, the antiquarian dealer retained by Yale, as part of a 20-30 minute
story, about 10 minutes into the programme.
< http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/75088,CST-NWS-maps28.article > 'Map quest at an
end. Collector's thefts, put at $3 million, lead to prison ' (by Andrew Herrmann in the
'Chicago Sun-Times', 28 September 2006) - 'Testifying at Smiley's sentencing, Newberry [Library,
Chicago] curator of maps Robert Karrow said Smiley was "a symbol of the vulnerabilities of
libraries. His fame and the monetary value of the objects he pillaged almost guarantee that he
will have imitators", Karrow told the court. "And some of those will learn from his mistakes
and outwit us again".'
'Smiley Case' - while most of the reaction to the sentence handed down to Smiley
focused on its supposed leniency, David Cobb's thoughtful post on 28 September to the MapHist list (the
perspective of one of those from an affected library [Harvard] who was actually present at the
hearing) offers a useful corrective. "It took me a while to understand that
the government case, represented by the Attorney General's Office of
Connecticut, had transcended Smiley and was moving to set a precedent, a
precedent that may be referenced often in the future of cultural
property theft. I believe that their case was focusing on the fact that
Smiley cooperated as much as we [he] did and they wanted to reward that
cooperation in order to encourage similar cooperation in the
future".
Beinecke theft announcement [via ExLibris, 28 September 2006] - 'The Beinecke Rare
Book and Manuscript Library reports that the following maps were discovered missing in June
2005. Please contact E.C. Schroeder at the address below if you have information that can
assist in their recovery.' This lists, without comment, the Cortes map of Mexico City, the
'North-west Fox' map, and Newfoundland, etc. from the English Pilot. The fourth map, the Fine
world (1532), carries the comment: 'Mr. E. Forbes Smiley acknowledged stealing the following
map but stated that he lost it in New York City.' These four are in addition to the
nine Beinecke maps included in the original list of 97 Smiley 'admissions'. The 1635 Luke Foxe
map had also appeared on that list, with a note that it had been recovered. However, the
present note confirms that Yale owns two examples of that map. Are the first three items on this
new list also connected with Smiley? Their loss was discovered in 'June 2005'; Smiley was
arrested on 8 June 2005.
< http://www.wtnh.com/Global/story.asp?S=5473074&nav=3YeX > 'Surveying stolen rare
maps' (Kent Pierce for Connecticut's News Channel 8, WTNH, 28 September 2006) - 'The F.B.I.
Thursday showed off maps stolen from libraries around the world, including Yale's Sterling
Library and Beinecke Rare Book Library ... Now that the case is closed the F.B.I. gave News
Channel 8 an exclusive look at them' [via < http://www.maptheuniverse.com/?p=65 > Map the Universe, which says that the video footage can be seen].
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-yalesmiley0928.artsep28,0,849906.story?coll=hc-big-headlines-breaking
> 'Thief's Next 3 1/2 Years Mapped Out. Judge Says Prison Term Reflects
Dealer's Cooperation In Recovery Of `Treasures'' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 28 September 2006) - adding
further details to her piece the day before, e.g. the judge 'noted that Smiley's time in jail will roughly match the
duration of his crime spree. Just a few months ago, Smiley estimated the thefts took place over
eight years but this month he cut that figure by half, after re-examining his business records,
his lawyer said ... As he heads off to jail broke, his business in tatters, few of the map
dealers he hurt are expecting full compensation. Several are on the verge of bankruptcy,
prosecutors said Wednesday. None were in the courtroom ... [Smiley said:] "I have read all the
victim-impact letters. ... I found them very powerful"... Robert Goldman, the British
Library's hired gun, faulted the government for not letting the library see Smiley's business
records or statements to the FBI. "To this day, we still don't know the names of the dealers he
dealt with," he said.' [The full text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.fbi.gov/page2/september06/maps092806.htm > Stolen Treasures.
The Case of the Missing Maps (The FBI's take on the case: "And justice has been served").
For a full round-up of the federal sentencing on 27 September 2006, and the extensive
coverage that followed, see Jonathan Crowe's report in the Map Room blog. This includes coverage of the libraries' (disregarded) pleas
for a heavy prison term. The British Library, for example, expressed itself "extremely
disappointed". State sentencing has been delayed until 13 October, though the period decided
there would run concurrently with the federal term.
< http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-mapdealersentence-artsep27,0,4755849.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'Map Dealer Sentenced to 3 ½ Years' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 27 September 2006) - 'The
money Smiley will make selling his home on Martha's Vineyard and his summer house in central
Maine is expected to cover only a fraction of what he owes. As he heads off to jail broke, with
his business in tatters, few of the map dealers he betrayed are holding their breath waiting
for payment'. [The full text also available via ExLibris].
<https://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/09/27/map_thief_sentenced_to_3_12_years_in_prison/
> 'Map thief sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison' (by John Christoffersen, Associated Press,
27 September 2006) - Smiley who 'who faced up to six years in prison under federal sentencing
guidelines', was sentenced on 27 September to 3 1/2 years by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond
Arterton. She commented that, "If you steal human treasures, then you will go to prison, but if
you help recover them, this will be taken into account and weighed in the balance". Smiley was
also 'tentatively ordered to pay restitution of $1.9 million, though that figure may change. He
is scheduled to report to prison January 4, 2007 - "as he continues to help track down a few
last maps" (added by Melissa Bailey in the New Haven Independent - < http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2006/09/map_thief_sente.php >).'
< http://newhaven.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2006/nh092706.htm > Map thief sentenced to 42 months
(United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut. Press Release, 27 September 2006)
Smiley sentenced on 27 September 2006 by a federal judge
'Forbes Smiley Sentencing on 9/27' (by Norm Pattis on the Crime &
Federalism blog, 26 September 2006). 'Some libraries are
said to be mulling civil suits but appear hesitant for fear Smiley has nothing. He has offered
substantial restitution as part of his plea deal. It would be foolish not to sue. If Smiley has in fact hidden proceeds away, victims can and
should secure judgments against him. He was at one point a world traveler, logging scores of
trips to Great Britain alone during one ten-year period. Odds are there is cash out there just
waiting him for to come spend it. A judgment can be collected on for up to 20 years, if you can find assets. I say put Mr. Smiley
under a financial microscope for 20 years. When he is released from prison sometime in 2010,
follow Smiley to whatever cash he has secreted.'
{absent, out of reach of email,
10-24 September - for a good coverage of Smiley-related news in this period see the Map Thefts
archive section of the Map Room blog}
'U.S. map thief resented prestigious libraries: court' (by Jason Szep on Yahoo -
via ExLibris, 22 September) - '"Smiley also explained in detail how he stole the maps from various
libraries, including using a razor in certain instances to cut the maps out,
clean the edges of the map and scrape off identifying marks," the
prosecutors said'.
< http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2006/09/22/smiley_sentencing.php > 'Sentencing is
Near in Map Theft Case' (by James Kinsella in the [Martha's] Vineyard Gazette, 22 September
2006) - summarising statements from the US Attorney involved and from Smiley's attorney.
<http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--stolenmaps0921sep21,0,5494907,print.story?coll=ny-region-apconnecticut
> 'Prosecutors say map-stealing collector motivated by resentment' (by John Christoffersen,
Associated Press, 21 September 2006) - including comments on Smiley's motives: "He explained
that his initial thefts were acting out of resentment toward persons at certain institutions
that he believed had wronged him, individuals who he believed had slighted him or used certain
of his research without accreditation," prosecutors wrote. "Other thefts he explained resulted
from some misguided sense of entitlement to the maps because he had, through collectors,
provided better versions of the same map to the institution. He also acknowledged that stealing
maps was profitable and he had mounting debts." Prosecutors also said that "inaccurate
cataloguing by some libraries, wide public access to materials and other issues made it
difficult to prove Smiley stole a particular map."
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctsmiley0920.artsep20,0,3170035.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'Map Dealer Asks Judge To Issue Light Sentence. Lawyer's Brief Cites Thief's Service,
Cooperation' (by Kim Martineau in the
Hartford Courant, 20 September 2006) - 'Despite the libraries' claims, the thefts did not
require great cunning or stealth, Smiley's lawyer argues. Even after the libraries inventoried
their collections, they failed to recognize they were missing 40 maps that Smiley later
confessed to taking ... In the brief, Smiley challenges the British Library's claim that he took
an additional three maps. He says that poor cataloguing has hindered his ability to cooperate
and insists that several of the maps that institutions still claim he stole were never in the
books to begin with.' [The full text also available via ExLibris].
<
http://wwws.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/09/19/map_stealing_collector_asks_for_leniency/
> 'Map-stealing collector asks for leniency' (by John Christoffersen, Associated
Press, 19 September 2006) - including the telling passage: 'Smiley admitted to taking two more
maps only a few weeks ago, Reeve [his attorney] said. The court papers do not provide any
details about those maps.' This appears to substantiate the libraries' claims that he took
more than he confessed to.
The ExLibris list had several threads on the Smiley case during September - see that
month's Archive (search for 'Smiley'; including a post from
Everett Wilkie on 15 September describing the cynical use made of 'cooperation' by some defendants)
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctyalesmiley0914.artsep14,0,2714856.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'British Want Stern Justice' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 14 September 2006) -
including some important new details: 'to disguise the provenance of the maps he stole, Smiley
removed library stamps, bleached the paper and cut new margins, the brief contends ...
Recently, the library tried to go over statements Smiley made to the FBI to look for clues
investigators may have missed. But the government denied access, citing federal policy. At
first, Smiley claimed he "did not remember" if he stole more maps from Britain, Goldman writes.
Later, when his lawyer tried to jog his memory, hazy recall turned into outright denial, he
writes. Smiley denied the library's request to review his statements and any records he gave
the government. He also insists he kept no record of the maps he fenced, Goldman writes,
contradicting an earlier statement by U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor. A dealer of Smiley's
caliber, selling to important, wealthy clients, would have kept close track of sales and what
his clients were still in the market for, Goldman argues.'
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctyalemaps0817.artaug17,0,5975490.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'Gift To Help Yale Preserve Its Maps' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 17 August 2006) - More about
William Reese and the Yale donation (see the story below) explaining how scans of rare maps
could be used to establish proof of ownership, in the event of future theft. The money will be
partly used to 'create a full electronic catalog of the collection, with digitized versions of
many of the most valuable maps. The collection holds about 15,000 maps printed before 1850,
showing early images of New England, America and North America. By scanning its rarest maps,
Yale will have an electronic record of each map, with its unique stains, coloring and creases.
If a map is stolen and turns up on the market, Yale then has a picture to compare it to and
prove ownership. Digitizing the rarest maps will cut down on the number of people handling the
maps while also allowing more people to study them - from a computer.' [The full text also available via ExLibris].
'Yale University Library receives a gift for the Map Collection' (16 August press
release - text via MapHist; see also missing signature)
- in the wake of the Smiley thefts, William Reese, the consultant retained by Yale (who
"worked with the Library to inventory the collections and to advise on the many issues which
have arisen") has donated $100,000 to the Sterling Memorial Library (matched by the Library),
which will "be seeking to endow the position of Map Curator, to support the creation of a full
electronic catalog with digitized versions of the holdings of this great collection, and to
support and extend the high-powered consultative service in Geospatial Information Systems
(GIS) that the staff provide".
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-goldman0814.artaug14,0,4472646.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'History's Policeman. With The Fervor Of A Missionary, A Former Prosecutor Helps
Track Down Those Who Would Steal Our Heritage' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 14 August 2006) - profile of
Robert Goldman, the former federal prosecutor and Philadelphia lawyer being retained by the
British Library in connection with further maps they suspect that Forbes Smiley may have
stolen. 'Goldman will try to shake loose more information before Smiley's sentencing next
month, while the library still has leverage...This year Goldman left his government job to work
exclusively on art crime, a beat he describes with a missionary's fervor. To him, the artifacts
are a link to the past. A chill runs down his spine when he can restore an item to its proper
historical context. It gives him a "quiet sense of immortality"..."Collecting is a passion that
blinds the conscience and steals the soul," he likes to say.'
< http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=514074 > 'Status of Stolen Maps in
Limbo. Libraries agree to keep "positive and productive" meeting private' (by Brittney L.
Moraski in the Harvard Crimson, 11
August 2006) - 'Harvard College Library (HCL) Director of Communications Beth S. Brainard said
that the meeting was positive and productive, but that the libraries agreed not to comment on
the meeting’s proceedings. Harvard will not announce whether it will hire an investigator to
determine if Smiley took more maps than the eight he has admitted to stealing until after
Smiley is sentenced in mid-September...The next step for Harvard, other institutions, and dealers affected by Smiley’s thefts is to prepare victim impact statements that will give them the opportunity to explain to the court what impact Smiley’s crime has had on them.
Such statements are a way for victims to describe how they’ve been affected by a crime. The
judge in a case can use that information to help in sentencing and determining restitution,
according to Justice Department Public Information Officer Tom Carson...Everett Wilkie, a
library security professional, said that Smiley’s thefts have "no doubt" caused libraries to
improve their security, such as by installing closed-circuit televisions, restricting access to
certain materials, increasing supervision, and starting to mark material more aggressively to
make stolen items harder to sell.' [The full text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2006/08/08/smiley_missing_maps.php> 'Library Curators
Puzzle Over Many Rare Maps Still Missing' (by James Kinsella in the [Martha's] Vineyard Gazette, 8 August 2006) -
the British Library has identified four missing maps: world maps by Peter Apian (1520) and
George Best (1578), as well as two copies of a map of New England and the Canadian Maritimes by
Sir William Alexander (editions of 1624 and 1625). 'While library records show that a number
of individuals looked at each of the maps, [Clive Field, Director of Scholarship and
Collections] said those records also show that Mr. Smiley is the only person since 1997 to
examine all four maps.' The Yale list of missing maps (originally 'as of July 19') has
evidently been updated to August 1, 2006 (and then to August 13, 2007), though any additions have not been identified.
< http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=514067 > 'New Twist in Smiley Case.
Libraries suspect that map dealer might have stolen more maps than admitted' (by Brittney L.
Moraski in the Harvard Crimson, 4
August 2006) - 'Administrators from several of the nation’s top libraries, including Harvard’s
Houghton Library, will meet at Yale on Aug. 7 to determine the ownership of 97 maps stolen by
E. Forbes Smiley III. But at least four of those libraries, including the Houghton, are missing
copies of the same maps, raising concern that Smiley may have taken more than he has admitted
to stealing from seven libraries over a seven-and-a-half year period in a plea bargain he
signed in June. The maps missing from Harvard’s collection, for example, overlap with maps
missing from collections at the New York Public Library, Yale University, the Boston Public
Library, and the British Library, according to Harvard College Library (HCL) Director of
Communications Beth S. Brainard. The Aug. 7 meeting will allow the libraries to look closely at
the 97 maps recovered by the government to determine which collection each map was stolen from,
she said. "Some of the institutions will come up with a longer list of missing items after this
meeting," Brainard said. By comparing the edges of maps and damage to the paper the maps were
printed on, the libraries’ representatives hope to determine what map belongs to what book -
and thus to what library, she said...The eight maps Smiley has admitted to stealing are
expected to be returned to the University around the time of Smiley’s sentencing in September.
But because Harvard’s missing maps overlap with those of other institutions, fewer than eight
maps will be returned if some of the recovered copies are found to belong to other libraries
instead.' [The full text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/06-08-01-04.all.html > 'Statement Regarding Yale Map
Thefts' (News Release from Yale University Office of Public Affairs, 1 August 2006) - "Several
recent news stories have mischaracterized Yale University's views regarding the federal
investigation of map thefts by E. Forbes Smiley. Yale is confident that the FBI and the U.S.
Attorney's Office have conducted a thorough investigation of the thefts, and the University is
grateful for the extraordinary efforts that the federal authorities have made to recover maps
stolen from Yale."
< https://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/08/01/bpl_harvard_renew_map_quest/
> 'BPL, Harvard renew map quest. Inventory taken after thief's plea' (by Jenna Russell in
the Boston Globe, 1 August 2006) - '"I
think all of the affected institutions believe [Forbes Smiley] took other maps," said Bernard
Margolis, the Boston Public Library's president...Smiley admitted taking 34 maps from the
Boston Public Library...All but three have been recovered by investigators and will be returned
to Boston after Smiley is sentenced next month. Another map will be returned to the library by
a private collector who heard about the thefts and realized it was stolen, said Margolis. He
declined to specify what maps are still missing in Boston...Harvard officials released a list of
five maps they think Smiley may have snatched in addition to the eight maps he admitted taking
there. Among the documents still missing are a 1625 map of New England by English travel writer
Samuel Purchas and another of "la Novvelle Franse" drawn by French navigator Samuel de
Champlain in 1612. Library records show that all five of the still-missing maps had been viewed
by Smiley, Harvard library spokeswoman Beth Brainard said.'
'Harvard Missing Map Alert' (a list, posted by David Cobb of the Harvard Map
Collection to the MapHist list (1 August 2006), with details of thirteen maps that had been
removed from their parent volume in the Houghton Library, Harvard University. Seven of the
maps match those Smiley confessed to stealing from Houghton, one (Dablon) is given with a
different date, and the remaining five are announced here for the first time [see the Smiley
connection for these mentioned in the entry above].
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-smiley0730.artjul30,0,5668384.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'Libraries Suspect More Maps Taken. Yale University and other prominent
institutions fear federal authorities may not have been thorough enough in their investigation
of map dealer E. Forbes Smiley III' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 30 July 2006) - The article gives details of specific
maps, missing from different libraries, that may be linked to Smiley. Martineau states that
"the British Library and Harvard can prove Smiley looked at all the rare books in which maps
have been found stolen. The problem lies in proving the maps were there when Smiley pulled the
books." The British Library have 'serious doubts' about the completeness of the FBI
investigation and have hired a former federal prosecutor, Robert Goldman in Philadelphia, to
push their case. He stated that the BL "view themselves as being trustees of the treasures that
belong to the British public and are extremely interested in recovering these objects". It is
reported that librarians will be meeting in New Haven on August 7, "in a closed-door conference
with the FBI to sort out loose ends before sentencing". [The full text also available via
ExLibris].
<
https://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/07/23/stolen_rare_maps_will_find_their_way_home
/ > 'Stolen rare maps will find their way home. Five others still missing from Harvard
collection' (by Janice O'Leary in the
Boston Globe, 23 July 2006) - 'Most of the maps stolen from the Houghton were cut out of
bound books'. Beth Brainard, Harvard College Library's director of communications, commented
that 'in reviewing its holdings, the Houghton discovered 13 maps were missing. "We're still
not clear where the other five are". She said she could not discuss specific security
procedures at the Houghton Library, which allows visitors to view its collections after
signing in. She said library thefts commonly go unnoticed for long periods. "Our collections
are so vast something can be missing for a while, until the next person looks for it and it's
not there. We have 15 million items in our collections".'
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-yalemaps0720.artjul20,0,3506904.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'Yale Posts List Of Missing Maps. Getting Word Out May Thwart Efforts To Sell' (by Kim
Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 20
July 2006) - Yale's Librarian and map dealers support the former head of the security
committee for the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America, Ken Sanders, when he says:
"Get the word out to as many people as possible if the goal is to recover the material and
apprehend the thief". William Reese notes that "institutions have a moral obligation to
publicize theft", and, as a warning to buyers, "anyone shopping in these markets has to be
conscious of provenance". As Kim Martineau sums up: "By making its list public, Yale has set
a precedent among the libraries that inventoried their collections after Smiley's arrest. If
other libraries follow, it could bring about a sea change in how maps are bought and sold, as
dealers and collectors start to insist on proof of clear title". The inventory of Yale's
Sterling Memorial Library revealed 'between 90 and 95 maps' as missing. Some are of Japan or
Russia, and others of modest value. However, the article itemises seven maps of which Smiley
is known to have handled examples. His lawyer describes that as 'coincidence' and Yale is said
not to suspect Smiley of their theft. [The full text also available via
ExLibris].
'Smiley's sentencing' (a message from Everett Wilkie (5 July) to the ExLibris list urging
people to 'write to the two judges who will be passing sentence and point out to them the
enormity of Smiley's crimes' - their addresses are provided)
< http://www.americanaexchange.com/NewAE/aemonthly/article.asp?f=1&page=1&id=390 >
'Who Says Crime Doesn't Pay?' (by Bruce McKinney in the Americana Exchange's AE
Monthly), July 2006 - a short, polemic piece that ridicules the leniency being shown to
Smiley.
'Civil rights and criminal law, federalism, and Section 1983: A Smiling Smiley Gets
Smacked' (by Norm Pattis, originally on the Crime & Federalism blog (23 June), here
reprinted on ExLibris, 30 June 2006) - explaining the complicated interaction
between the federal and state courts and concluding that Smiley's lawyer has
engineered things to his advantage, so that he avoided being faced with consecutive rather than
concurrent jail terms.
< http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2006/06/30/rare_map_thefts.php > 'Thefts of Rare Maps
Shatter The Small World of Collectors' (by James Kinsella in the [Martha's] Vineyard Gazette, 30 June 2006) -
various interviews emphasising the cultural aspect of Smiley's thefts, including one with the
librarian at the Massachusetts Historical Society (which was mentioned in court documents but
not in Smiley's list of the maps he stole). Background is given into the 1994 federal law designed
to protect valuable cultural artefacts. It is suggested that the cultural aspects of Smiley's
actions might increase his sentence in September.
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-ctsmiley0630.artjun30,0,2514679.story?coll=hc-headlines-local
> 'New Allegations Against Map Thief. The British Library Says That E. Forbes Smiley
III Stole Four Maps, Not Just One' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 30 June 2006) - while Smiley admitted stealing one map
from the British Library, the 1520 Apian world (valued $125,000), the BL is said to be
pursuing charges relating to three other missing maps [see the entry for 24 June]. Details are
given of how the BL was on the point of notifying the local police, having discovered the
loss. In other words, Smiley would almost certainly have been apprehended, despite being
caught red-handed at Yale. The US authorities, however, continue to champion Smiley. "The U.S.
Attorney for Connecticut, Kevin O'Connor, said Tuesday that investigators had found no
evidence that Smiley was lying. In some instances, Smiley gave up more valuable maps than the
ones the libraries had reported missing, he said. Smiley's business records provided further
detail. He recorded the sale of maps he acquired legitimately but also the maps he fenced to
the trade. His cooperation led the FBI to nearly 80 stolen maps they could not otherwise have
traced. 'We have no reason to believe he would have omitted those maps,' said O'Connor".
Disappointingly, Kim Martineau concludes that, even if Smiley is shown to have taken more
material, "it doesn't appear that it would jeopardize his plea deal because the U.S.
government is pleased with his cooperation". [This was repeated on Fox61 News: < http://fox61.trb.com/news/hc-ctsmiley0630.artjun30,0,1678534.story?coll=wtic-news-3 >]
< http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=513888 > 'Map Dealer Admits to 97
Thefts. Eight maps to be returned to Harvard; Five maps still missing' (by Brittney L. Moraski
in the Harvard Crimson, 30 June
2006) - "After Smiley was caught at Yale, libraries including Houghton went through their
collections to see if anything was missing. According to Harvard College Library (HCL)
Director of Communications Beth Brainard, Houghton Library discovered that 13 maps were
missing from their collection. Of those 13 maps, Smiley has admitted to stealing eight,
including a map of the new world by Hernan Cortes from 1524...Connecticut U.S. Attorney Kevin
O’Connor, whose office is prosecuting the case against Smiley, said he has no reason to
believe that Smiley stole more maps than the 97 that are listed in his plea agreement.
O’Connor added that Smiley’s plea agreement does not prevent the Justice Department from
prosecuting Smiley in the future, should they learn of other thefts he committed. HCL will not
release information on the five as yet unaccounted-for maps until it receives the Smiley maps
after he is sentenced mid-September, Braindard said...According to Justice Department Public
Information Officer Tom Carson, the financial victims of Smiley’s thefts are the individuals -
typically dealers - Smiley sold the maps to. 'Often it’s the dealers in the middle who have
suffered the majority of the financial loss in the case'".
< http://www.antiquesandthearts.com/TT-2006-06-27-08-24-56p1 > 'Edward Forbes Smiley
III Admits To Stealing 97 Rare Maps From US And UK Institutions' (by Laura Beach in Antiques
and the Arts Online, 27 June 2006 - "'We submit that there are several sets of victims, including institutions and
dealers,' said Assistant US Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser, addressing the judge. 'As part
of the record, we approached dealers for their help. It's the government's position that
dealers who spent money to acquire these pieces were defrauded. They are victims.'...Those defrauded include antique map and book dealers
Cohen & Taliaferro LLC, of New York, for between $879,400 and $886,400; English dealer Clive A.
Burden, Ltd, owed between $390,770 and $403,520; The Old Print Shop of New York, due $460,740;
Lawrence Fox, Esq, $19,000; The New York Public Library, $25,000 to $70,000; Beinecke Library,
$10,000; Harold Osher, $37,500; and Boston Public Library, $39,000. The amounts are subject to
change between now and sentencing if additional maps are returned. 'My guess is that they will
get 30 or 40 cents to the dollar,' said antiquarian book dealer William Reese of New Haven, a
longtime advisor to Yale museums who has been retained by Yale's general counsel as an expert
in the case." Smiley's counsel said that "we don't disagree that the X-Acto knife was there and that it was his but it was not used on the maps" [leaving open the question of how the maps were removed].
<
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=2184a40d-6a15-48b4-b11c-c865f5098691&k=
30512&p=1 > 'Rare maps in brush with criminal world. Antiquarian thief: London, New York
libraries lost treasured artifacts' (by Randy Boswell, CanWest News Service in the National
Post, 27 June 2006) - itemising and discussing the nine maps that relate to Canada.
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-smileyfolo0625.artjun25,0,4716531.story?coll=hc-headlines-local >
'For Map Thief, A World Of Deceit. Forbes Smiley's Elite Clientele Are Left Feeling Betrayed,
Humiliated; `I Took It Personally,' Says One' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 25 June 2006) - an
important piece with considerable new information. "The FBI investigation is now over but
the libraries are beginning to confront an even bigger problem. After Smiley's arrest, they
took stock of their collections and in some cases, found far more material missing than Smiley
has confessed to. Harvard University's Houghton Library found during its inventory that 13 maps
are missing. Smiley admitted to taking eight. The additional losses leave unsettling questions.
Did Smiley disclose all of his crimes? Or were the libraries lax about security and vulnerable
long before Smiley walked through the door? ... Graham Arader is convinced Smiley took more maps
than he has admitted to. Arader speculates that small libraries and historical societies may
have been hit and just not known it." [The full text also available via
ExLibris].
< http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/jun/24/books.ukcrime > 'Dealer who stole
rare maps faces jail and £1m fines. Expert cut pages from atlases with razor blade. British
Library and US institutions targeted' (by Duncan Campbell in the [London] Guardian, 24 June 2006) - A
spokeswoman for the British Library said four maps out of their collection of 4m had been
stolen. One is a map of the world, dated 1520, by Peter Apian. Another world map, dated 1578,
and described as "a true discourse of the late voyages of Martin Frobisher", an untitled map of
New England and Canada from Sir William Alexander's book, An Encouragement to Colonies, from
1624, and the world map, Typus Cosmographicus Universalis by Sebastian Munster, dated 1532,
were also stolen."
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/06/24/nmap24.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/06/24/ixuknews.html >
'Dealer admits British Library theft' (by Ben Fenton in the [London] Daily Telegraph, 24 June 2006) -
"An early 16th century map stolen from the British Library should soon be on its way home after
the antiquarian who took it and about 100 others worth almost £2 million admitted his crimes in
an American court. But two other maps that the library believes were taken by E Forbes Smiley III, an American
antiquarian map dealer, may never be recovered. Official sources said that both British and American police knew that Smiley was under
suspicion of theft some time before he was arrested and that if they had moved faster the
missing maps might well have been found...The FBI said Smiley, 50, had confessed to stealing
97 maps, but former colleagues say they believe he took several more as well."
< http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/crime/article1096055.ece > 'Antiques expert admits
stealing maps worth £1.6m' (by Cahal Milmo in the [London] Independent, 24 June 2006) - including the comment "It is
understood that at least six of the stolen maps were sold to British clients."
< http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/23/nyregion/23map.html > 'For Dealer, Stolen Maps
Point Way to Jail' (by Alison Leigh Cowan in the New York Times, 23 June 2006; requires free registration) - the five
'unrecoverable' maps comprise "an early 18th-century map of east and west New Jersey by John
Thornton and a 1770 map of Pennsylvania, both owned by the New York Public Library; a 1646 map
of Chesapeake in a book titled Dudley Charts [i.e. the Arcano del Mare] and an undated
map of Carolina and part of Georgia that were in the collection of the Boston Public Library;
and a 1532 map of Cordiform World by Huttich/Fine that belonged to Beinecke."
< http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=32953 > 'Beinecke suspect admits
stealing maps' (by Priya Raman in the
Yale Daily News, 23 June 2006) - "In a press release issued by the U.S. District Attorney's
office, prosecutors said that Sterling Memorial Library had lost 11 maps, while the Beinecke
had lost 9 over the years."
< http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2006/06/23/smiley_pleads_guilty.php > 'Chilmark
Resident Admits Map Theft' (by James Kinsella in the [Martha] Vineyard Gazette, 23 June 2006) - adding information about the
likely sentencing [September 1 & 2, 2006], e.g. "For his admitted offense, Mr. Smiley can be sentenced to a maximum of
10 years in prison, and fined up to $1,610,400 - the value of the 18 thefts that federal
authorities believe they could prove at trial. Based on sentencing guidelines, however, Mr.
Smiley more likely faces somewhere between 57 and 71 months in prison. The federal government
also has stipulated that Mr. Smiley place a lien accounting for his half interest in
his Chilmark property and another property that he and his wife own in Maine. ...Judge Richard
Damiani told Mr. Smiley that he could be sentenced up to 60 years in prison and or fined
$45,000. But Judge Damiani said he was inclined to sentence Mr.Smiley to five years in state prison for each count, though the sentences would run
concurrently and also concurrently with whatever federal time he serves."
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-smiley0623.artjun23,0,6585893.story?coll=hc-headlines-local >
'Thefts Off The Chart. Pleading Guilty, Dealer Admits To Stealing 97 Rare Maps Worth More
Than $3 Million' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 23 June 2006) - with further details to the previous day's piece:
Smiley explained that he had "been seeing a therapist for psychological issues and that he is
taking medication for heart disease...More than half of the maps Smiley confessed to stealing
came out of Boston Public, which lost 34 maps, and New York Public, which lost 32. Without
Smiley's cooperation, the FBI had evidence linking him to only 18 thefts, including the eight
maps found in his briefcase when he was arrested in New Haven on June 8, 2005. None of the 18
maps came from the Boston Public Library, suggesting that Boston's record keeping and security
may have been the worst of all the libraries hit. Smiley confessed to taking 20 maps in all
from Yale's Beinecke and Sterling libraries; eight from Harvard University's Houghton Library;
two from the Newberry Library in Chicago and one from the British Library in London. Many of
the maps were "wholesaled" or passed on to dealers in the trade...Most of the money is owed to
two established map dealerships in New York: The Old Print Shop and the successors to Richard
B. Arkway Inc. Arkway's losses are close to $880,000; the Old Print Shop, $461,000. Philip
Burden, a London dealer who drew on Smiley's expertise for his book, 'The Mapping of North
America', lost about $400,000." It was also noted that "worming holes at the center of the [de Jode] map matched the atlas, providing further evidence."
< http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/22/nyregion/22cnd-maps.html?_r=1&oref=slogin > 'Dealer Pleads Guilty to Map Theft From
Yale Library' (by Alison Leigh Cowan in the New York Times, 22 June 2006)
- Speaking about four maps taken from Yale, Smiley said 'I concealed them in my briefcase with the intention of removing them from
the library'. As a result of his actions many of the institutions he had visited had decided 'to scour their collections for signs
of tampering. And many of his customers in the rarefied world of collecting cautiously reviewed their purchases.'
<http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/06/22/collector_pleads_guilty_admits_stealing_rare_maps/?p1=MEWell_Pos1 >
'Collector pleads guilty; admits stealing rare maps' (by John Christoffersen in the Boston Globe, 22 June 2006) - "Smiley faces
nearly six years in prison on the federal charge and will have to pay restitution. The
restitution amount has not yet been determined, but he does face a fine of up to $1.6 million
for the federal charge, prosecutors said...'It's just incredible things of that value are so
readily accessible in the libraries,' said Kimberly Mertz, Connecticut's top FBI agent. Smiley
could face about five years in prison based on the state plea agreement, said New Haven
State's Attorney Michael Dearington. He is scheduled to be sentenced on the federal charge
Sept. 21 and the state charge on Sept.22. Smiley, who attended Princeton Theological Seminary,
plans to sell his homes on Martha's Vineyard and in Maine to pay the restitution, his attorney
said. He said in court he has been seeing a therapist, but declined comment when leaving
court."
< http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-22171817.apds.m0449.bc-ct--stoljun22,0,4186242.story?coll=hc-headlines-local >
'Collector Pleads Guilty; Admits Stealing Rare Maps' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 22 June 2006) [the full text
also available via ExLibris] - Smiley admitted in federal court to stealing 97 maps and pleaded
guilty to removing De Jode's world map from the atlas in Yale. In the Connecticut Superior
Court he also admitted to stealing three other maps from Yale. "He had faced up to 60 years in
prison if convicted of all three state larceny charges but in the combined state and federal
plea agreement he is expected to spend no more than 71 months in federal prison...Richard
Reeve [Smiley's lawyer] estimated the value of all the maps at more than $1.8 million. The
U.S. attorney's office assigned them a value of more than $3 million. In an effort to cover
the costs, Reeve said, Smiley has executed mortgage deeds on houses he owns in Martha's
Vineyard and central Maine, though Reeve said it won't likely be enough money to make full
restitution." The United States Attorney, District of Connecticut issued a press release on 22
June 2006. This states that "Judge Arterton has scheduled sentencing for, September 21, 2006,
at which time SMILEY faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to
$1,610,400."
What follows preceded the court appearance on 22 June 2006 at which Smiley admitted to stealing 97 maps:
<http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2006/06/21/collector_expected_to_plead_guilty_to_stealing_rare_maps/
> 'Collector expected to plead guilty to stealing rare maps' (in
the Boston Globe, 21 June 2006) - 'Smiley, who pleaded not guilty to the charges last year,
could face about five years in prison based on the plea agreement, said New Haven State's
Attorney Michael Dearington'.
< http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-smiley0614.artjun14,0,6454821.story > 'An
Affront To Civilization' (Editorial in the
Hartford Courant, 20 June 2006).
< http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2006/06/16/smiley_map_theft.php > 'Chilmark Man May
Plead Guilty in Rare Map Theft' (by James Kinsella in the [Martha's] Vineyard Gazette, 16 June 2006) - "Thomas Carson, a spokesman
for the U.S. Attorney in New Haven, said that no federal charges have been filed nor has a
federal indictment [been] brought against Mr. Smiley. But Mr. Carson said people under investigation
sometimes will plead guilty to criminal information filed with the federal court".
< http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-smiley0614.artjun14,0,6454821.story > 'Map
Dealer Due In Court Expected To Admit Thefts From Yale, Other Institutions' (by Kim Martineau
in the Hartford Courant, 14 June 2006) -
'Smiley is due to appear in U.S. District Court in New Haven on June 22 to accept
responsibility for a staggering number of thefts, bringing a yearlong FBI investigation to an
end. After his expected plea in federal court, Smiley is then scheduled to go to state
Superior Court a block away to resolve the three larceny charges pending against him there'.
[Text also available via ExLibris].
<
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-smiley0115.artjan15,0,6000647.story?coll=hc-headlines-home
> 'Rare Documents Going Digital. Yale May Join Libraries Using Technology Against Theft Of
Originals' (by Kim Martineau in the Hartford
Courant, 15 January 2006 - including references to Forbes Smiley, e.g. that he has "been in close
contact with federal authorities since at least early fall, as part of the FBI's investigation
of map thefts across the Northeast and beyond").
< http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:132371 > 'Smiley´s People:
the theft of culture by and for the rich' (by Alan Bisbort in the Hartford Advocate, 3 November
- using the Smiley case to discuss the earlier loss of illustrative material from the
Library of Congress). [Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showfast.html?article=62196 >
'Map dealer charts defense' (by Jeanne Morris in the New Hampshire Union Leader, 23 October -
testimonials from friends, not a legal defense) [Text also available via ExLibris].
'A Theft in the Library: The Case of the Missing Maps' by William
Finnegan in The New Yorker, 17 October 2005, pp.64-78 (the most extensive piece on the Smiley affair)
< http://maroon.uchicago.edu/news/articles/2005/10/11/map_thief_prompts_li.php >
'Map thief prompts library security concerns across the country' (by Alex Raphel in
the Chicago Maroon, 11 October)
< http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/10/nyregion/10maps.htm >'A Rival
Is Charged, and a Map Dealer Wants to Say, 'Told You So'' (you have to register [free] for
this; by Alison Leigh Cowan in the New York
Times, 10 October - mostly about Graham Arader's rivalry with Smiley ). [Text also
available via ExLibris].
< http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article575675.ece >
'Arrest in library may throw light on shadowy world of stolen maps' (by Charles Bremner in
The Times (London), 7
October). [Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=30135 > 'Alleged
Beinecke thief meets with judge' (by Kat Huang in the Yale Daily News, 4 October). [Text also
available via ExLibris].
The Map Room (reproducing
the relevant part of the Arts Briefs from the New York Times, for 4 October (though posted on 3 October) describing the formality of the
pre-trial hearing, without new information; you can register [free] for the <
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/04/arts/04arts.html > original)
< http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/03/arts/design/03maps.html >
'Theft Case Rattles Sedate World of Rare Maps' (you have to register [free] for this; by
Alison Leigh Cowan in the New York
Times, 3 October [and reprinted elsewhere] - an extended piece giving new information,
including noting suspicions dating back five years). [Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-smiley0925.artsep25,0,1535022.story?coll=hc-headlines-home >
'From life among the elite to charges of theft' (a five-screen piece by Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 25 September - with comments from those who know Forbes Smiley and discussing his financial difficulties)
<
http://www.hamhigh.co.uk/content/hamhigh/news/story.aspx?brand=NorthLondon24&category=Newshamhigh&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newshamhigh&itemid=WeED15%20Sep%202005%2017%3A27%3A35%3A177
> 'Map thieves in daring raid on British Library'
(Katie Davies in the Ham&High [Hampstead and Highgate Express, London], 16 September - about material
missing from the British Library)
<
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=320d5f9c-55f1-4137-9c40-79503dfda4f9&page=1 > 'Map mystery: Who's nicking treasures?'
(Randy Boswell in the Montreal Gazette, 14 September - about the Frobisher map from the
British Library). [Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article565924.ece" target="_blank">
'Theft of 400-year-old maps adds to British Library's catalogue of woes' > (by Dalya Alberge in
The Times (London), 13 September)
< http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/global-link-in-theft-of-rare-maps-from-british-library-506601.html > Global
link in theft of rare maps from British Library' (Louise Jury in the The Independent (London), 13 September - about the British Library). [Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-maps10sep10,1,4843121,full.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true > 'Alleged Thefts Disquieting for Libraries'
(Elizabeth Mehren in the Los Angeles Times, 10 September). [Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-shteir29aug29,0,1519220.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions
> 'Our nation of thieves' (Rachel Shteir in the Los Angeles Times, 29 August - relating general points about increasing theft to the Smiley case)
< http://www.antiquesandthearts.com/TT-2005-08-15-17-08-58p1 >
'Smiley Pleads 'Not Guilty' In Yale Map Theft Case' (David S. Smith in the Antiques and the Arts Online, August 2005 - with photograph)
< http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/articles/aug05/yale0805.htm >
'Dealer Arrested in Yale Library Theft' (Maine Antique Digest, August 2005)
< http://www.thecrimson.com/today/article508387.html > 'Arrested
Dealer May Have Lifted Harvard Maps' (Brendan R. Linn in the Harvard Crimson, 12 August 2005 - discussing Harvard, which has not reported any loss)
< http://www.nhregister.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15007955&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=517515&rfi=
8/ > 'A well-known antique maps dealer, whose arrest sent curators and
librarians scurrying to review the world’s rarest map collections, pleaded innocent Tuesday to
pilfering centuries-old maps from Yale University' (Randall Beach in the New Haven Register, 10 August 2005)
< http://www.newsday.com/news/local/state/hc-mapcollector0809,0,3079260.story?coll=ny-statenews-headlines >
'Map Collector Pleads Not Guilty' (Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 9 August 2005)
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-stolen-maps,0,6313824.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines > 'Man Pleads Innocent to Stealing Maps' (Matt
Apuzzo, Associated Press, 9 August 2005 [and widely syndicated])
< http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/top/e09maps.htm >
'With rare maps missing from schools, collector heads to court' (Matt Apuzzo, Associated
Press, 9 August 2005 [and widely syndicated])
<
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0508060069aug06,1,7753895.story?coll=chi-news-hed > 'The story of a map quest, a notable dealer's arrest - and now, a Chicago twist'
(Tonya Maxwell in the Chicago
Tribune, 6 August 2005 - on the Newberry Library). [Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.courant.com/hc-mapthief0805.artaug05,0,7983747.story > 'Map Thefts Not
So Rare After All' (Kim Martineau and Lisa Chedekel in the Hartford Courant, 5 August 2005 - discussing
the British Library). [Text also available via ExLibris].
'Are these maps yours?'
(list of four maps (with links to images) found in Smiley's possession, posted by Robert Karrow
to the MapHist list, 4 August 2005)
<http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/chi-0507280215jul28,0,1034851.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines > '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' (Tonya Maxwell in the Chicago Tribune, 28 July 2005). [Text also
available via ExLibris].
< http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=116885 > 'Man with Sebec ties charged
in map thefts' (Bangor Daily News, 22 July 2005).
[Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-mapquest0717.artjul17,0,3296525.story?page=2&coll=hc-big-headlines-breaking > 'Map of a Crime' (Kim Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 17 July 2005). [Text also
available via ExLibris].
< http://www.mvtimes.com/News/07142005/weekly_stories/map.html >
'Chilmark man charged in Yale library map thefts' (Nelson Sigelman in the Martha's Vineyard Times, 14 July 2005)
[formerly] < http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=29520 >; [now] <
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/14360?badlink=1 >: 'Art dealer charged in Beinecke thefts' (Jeff Muskus in Yale Daily News, 12 July 2005)
<
http://fox61.trb.com/news/local/hc-maptheft0709.artjul09,0,1448717.story?coll=hc-headlines-local > 'Antique Map Theft Charged: Dealer's Bail Set In Incidents At Yale Library' (Kim
Martineau in the Hartford Courant, 9 July
2005). [Text also available via ExLibris].
< http://te.verweg.com/pipermail/msn-list/2005-July/001156.html >
'FBI alert/request for information: map thefts by dealer Edward Forbes Smiley III'
(MSN-list, copied from ExLibris, 7 July 2005)
'A Theft in the Library: The Case of the Missing Maps' by William Finnegan in The New
Yorker, 17 October 2005, pp.64-78 (the most extensive piece on the Smiley affair)
