Thanks to Everett Wilkie for passing along this editorial from Bruce McKinney, the owner of Americana Exchange. McKinney takes on the plea deal reached with map thief E. Forbes Smiley, calling the disgraced dealer "the Edward Scissorhands of the antiquarian map business."
Wilkie also recently posted the addresses of the state and federal judges who will announce Smiley's sentence on September 21. He encourages those of us with interest in this matter to write: "You do not need to be at one of the libraries affected to have your voice heard in either case. In the federal case, especially, he is charged with cultural theft, and that is a crime against all of us, not just the library from which he stole that map. One reason that it is important that you let your feelings be known is that Smiley's defense team is no doubt lining up letters of support and commendation for this man. Those must be offset by reality."
I'll be writing.
