- Travis McDade has two recent pieces on Medium about rare book theft: "The Most Perfect Rare Book Crime" and "Prosecuting the Pittsburgh Rare Book Theft." See also his Atlas Obscura piece from this week on Robert Kindred's library thefts.
- Ryan Gilbey writes in the Guardian about "American Animals" as a mix of fact and fiction.
- Over on the ABAA blog, a post about bookseller Owen Kubik's recent assistance in returning some books to Yale University which had been stolen from the Sterling Library stacks in the 1970s.
- Don't forget the Brooklyn Antiquarian Book Fair, coming up 8–9 September! Looking forward to being there for the books and for the great series of talks lined up.
- Over at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "Mapping MMBL [Medieval Manuscripts in British Libraries]," a handy guide to manuscripts in the UK.
- Bookfinder.com has released their list of the most-searched out-of-print books for 2017.
- The University of Washington's Sandra Kroupa is profiled in the Seattle Times.
- The BL has recently added some spectacular manuscripts to their digital collection.
- Over on the Center for the History of Physics blog, "A Life in Books," about the library of Dr. Silvan Schweber.
Reviews
- Jenny Uglow's Mr. Lear; review by David Orr in the NYTimes.
- Anne Boyd Rioux's Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy; review by Charlotte Gordon in the WaPo.
- Claire Tomalin's A Life of My Own; review by Heller McAlpin in the WaPo.
- Susan Carlile's Charlotte Lennox; review by Min Wild in the TLS.
Auctions
- A Bibliophile's Bibliophilic Library Part II at Forum Auctions (online) on 29 August.
- Books and Ephemera at Keys Fine Art Auctioneers on 30–31 August.
Showing posts with label Transy Four. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Transy Four. Show all posts
Sunday, August 26, 2018
Sunday, August 12, 2018
Links & Reviews
- The four Transylvania University book thieves talked to Ben Machell of the Times.
- Jessica Leigh Hester writes for Atlas Obscura about "The Crack Squad of Librarians Who Track Down Half-Forgotten Books."
- From Mary Beard in the TLS, "Where do the books belong?"
- Over at Exeter Working Papers in Book History, "Sir Thomas Bodley: Commemorating a Great Exonian."
- Princeton University Library hosted students from several HBCUs in July for the first installment of an Archives Research and Collaborative History program, designed "to introduce students to the archival field, the importance of diversity in archival collections, how to use primary-source documents and potential career opportunities. The program also encouraged students to make connections between historical narratives and present-day social justice issues."
- Alison Flood reports for the Guardian on recent work to identify and create a database of poems written in response to the Lancashire Cotton Famine.
- A 14th-century manuscript has been returned to the Egyptian national library after it was identified in the catalog for a Bonhams sale in April. The manuscript had disappeared from the library in the 1970s.
Review
- Philippe Costamagna's The Eye; review by Alexander C. Kafka in the WaPo.
Upcoming Auctions
- Hunting Books from the Collection of Arnold "Jake" Johnson at Doyle on 14 August (online only).
- Printed Books, Maps & Documents at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 15 August.
- Rare Books & Ephemera at Addison & Sarova on 18 August.
- Jessica Leigh Hester writes for Atlas Obscura about "The Crack Squad of Librarians Who Track Down Half-Forgotten Books."
- From Mary Beard in the TLS, "Where do the books belong?"
- Over at Exeter Working Papers in Book History, "Sir Thomas Bodley: Commemorating a Great Exonian."
- Princeton University Library hosted students from several HBCUs in July for the first installment of an Archives Research and Collaborative History program, designed "to introduce students to the archival field, the importance of diversity in archival collections, how to use primary-source documents and potential career opportunities. The program also encouraged students to make connections between historical narratives and present-day social justice issues."
- Alison Flood reports for the Guardian on recent work to identify and create a database of poems written in response to the Lancashire Cotton Famine.
- A 14th-century manuscript has been returned to the Egyptian national library after it was identified in the catalog for a Bonhams sale in April. The manuscript had disappeared from the library in the 1970s.
Review
- Philippe Costamagna's The Eye; review by Alexander C. Kafka in the WaPo.
Upcoming Auctions
- Hunting Books from the Collection of Arnold "Jake" Johnson at Doyle on 14 August (online only).
- Printed Books, Maps & Documents at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 15 August.
- Rare Books & Ephemera at Addison & Sarova on 18 August.
Sunday, July 08, 2018
Links & Reviews
- Over on Medium, Travis McDade on "Of Rich Kids and Rare Book Theft: American Animals and the Various 'Nonfictions' of a True Crime."
- Diane Mehta writes for the Paris Review on "The Rare Women in the Rare-Book Trade."
- From Cait Coker over on Sammelband, the second post in a series on setting up a print shop.
- Among the books from West Horsley Place being sold at Sotheby's tomorrow is a copy of the Faerie Queen believed to have been among the books Charles I read during his pre-execution imprisonment; see Alison Flood's report in the Guardian.
- Meaghan Brown writes for The Collation on the Lost Plays Database.
- Alex Johnson takes a look at the books on the secure e-readers developed for the Navy.
- Peter Steinberg explores the story behind a Sylvia Plath association copy.
- Margaret Gamm has been appointed Head of Special Collections at the University of Iowa.
- An important collection of British suffragette material was sold at auction in Derbyshire for £16,000.
- James Pickford reports for the Financial Times on "Triumph of the trophy hunters at rare books auctions."
Reviews
- John R. Payne's Great Catalogues by Master Booksellers; review by Don Lindgren for the ABAA blog.
- Edmund White's The Unpunished Vice: A Life in Reading; review by Rachel Cooke in the Guardian.
Auctions
- English Literature, History, Science, Children's Books and Illustrations at Sotheby's London on 9–10 July.
- The Library of an English Bibliophile Part VIII at Sotheby's London on 10 July.
- The Rothamsted Collection: Rarities from the Lawes Agricultural Library (Part I | Part II) at Forum Auctions on 10–11 July.
- Valuable Books and Manuscripts at Christie's London on 11 July.
- Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 12 July.
- Fine Americana – Travel & Exploration – World History – Cartography at PBA Galleries on 12 July.
- Autographs & Memorabilia and The Library of Giancarlo Beltrame Part III and other Fine Antiquarian Books at Chiswick Auctions on 12 July.
- Diane Mehta writes for the Paris Review on "The Rare Women in the Rare-Book Trade."
- From Cait Coker over on Sammelband, the second post in a series on setting up a print shop.
- Among the books from West Horsley Place being sold at Sotheby's tomorrow is a copy of the Faerie Queen believed to have been among the books Charles I read during his pre-execution imprisonment; see Alison Flood's report in the Guardian.
- Meaghan Brown writes for The Collation on the Lost Plays Database.
- Alex Johnson takes a look at the books on the secure e-readers developed for the Navy.
- Peter Steinberg explores the story behind a Sylvia Plath association copy.
- Margaret Gamm has been appointed Head of Special Collections at the University of Iowa.
- An important collection of British suffragette material was sold at auction in Derbyshire for £16,000.
- James Pickford reports for the Financial Times on "Triumph of the trophy hunters at rare books auctions."
Reviews
- John R. Payne's Great Catalogues by Master Booksellers; review by Don Lindgren for the ABAA blog.
- Edmund White's The Unpunished Vice: A Life in Reading; review by Rachel Cooke in the Guardian.
Auctions
- English Literature, History, Science, Children's Books and Illustrations at Sotheby's London on 9–10 July.
- The Library of an English Bibliophile Part VIII at Sotheby's London on 10 July.
- The Rothamsted Collection: Rarities from the Lawes Agricultural Library (Part I | Part II) at Forum Auctions on 10–11 July.
- Valuable Books and Manuscripts at Christie's London on 11 July.
- Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper at Forum Auctions on 12 July.
- Fine Americana – Travel & Exploration – World History – Cartography at PBA Galleries on 12 July.
- Autographs & Memorabilia and The Library of Giancarlo Beltrame Part III and other Fine Antiquarian Books at Chiswick Auctions on 12 July.
Sunday, June 17, 2018
Links & Reviews
- An obituary for Bill Reese ran in the 15 June NYTimes. The Beinecke Library has also posted a tribute page, as well as a podcast of Bill talking about Audubon's Birds of America which I recommend most highly.
- The Portland Audubon sold at Christie's on Thursday for $9.65 million, the second-highest auction price for a copy of Birds of America.
- In other Audubon news, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported this week that the copy of Birds of America owned by the city's Carnegie Museum of Natural History was sold last fall to a California buyer for $6 million. The sale was facilitated by ... Bill Reese.
- Elizabeth Povoledo reports for the NYTimes on the return to the Vatican of a stolen Columbus Letter. See also the press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. This is the third such restitution in two years (and the second this month).
- The ABAA has posted a "Missing in Transit" notice for a number of autograph letters and a book from Stalin's library.
- The Petau Book of Hours sold at Drouot on Saturday for the equivalent of $5 million.
- Jessica Lester Hester writes for Atlas Obscura on the use of manuscript and printed waste in bookbindings.
- As the film about the 2004 Transylvania University special collections theft arrives in theaters, BJ Gooch, the librarian the thieves assaulted, has spoken about her experience to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
- If you can, be sure to stop by the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at UVA to see the new exhibition "Eminent Miniatures."
- Another week, another Voynich Manuscript theory.
- Alex Johnson writes for the Independent about the library brought along on Scott's Discovery expedition from 1901–1904.
- Really enjoyed the news that the Massachusetts Historical Society has installed a "little free library" on the front steps.
- New from the AAS, an illustrated inventory of the Society's collection of ribbon badges.
- From Caroline Duroselle-Melish at The Collation, "Engraved to Sell."
- David McKitterick has a short post on the Cambridge University Press blog about his new book The Invention of Rare Books.
- Fleur Macdonald reports for the BBC on the ongoing analysis of the manuscripts in the library of St. Catherine's monastery in the Sinai.
- Corey Kilgannon profiles Carolyn Waters, head librarian at the New York Society Library.
Review
- Giorgio van Straten's In Search of Lost Books; review by Alberto Manguel in the TLS.
Upcoming Auctions
- Five Aristophil sales this week: Beaux-arts, œuvres et correspondances (4) at Aguttes on 18 June; Littérature, écrivains et poètes du XIXe-XXe (5) at Drouot on 19 June; Littérature, écrivains et poètes du XIXe-XXe (6) at Aguttes on 19 June; Musique, de Jean-Sébastien Bach à Boulez (7) at Ader on 20 June; Musique, de Lully à Stravinsky (8) at Aguttes on 20 June.
- Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs at Lyon & Turnbull on 19 June.
- Fine Books, Manuscripts, Atlases & Historical Photographs at Bonhams London on 20 June.
- Printed Books, Maps & Documents at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 20 June.
- Autographed Documents, Manuscripts, Books & Relics at University Archives on 20 June.
- Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler III at Swann Galleries on 21 June.
- Modern Literature & First Editions at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 21 June.
- The Portland Audubon sold at Christie's on Thursday for $9.65 million, the second-highest auction price for a copy of Birds of America.
- In other Audubon news, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported this week that the copy of Birds of America owned by the city's Carnegie Museum of Natural History was sold last fall to a California buyer for $6 million. The sale was facilitated by ... Bill Reese.
- Elizabeth Povoledo reports for the NYTimes on the return to the Vatican of a stolen Columbus Letter. See also the press release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware. This is the third such restitution in two years (and the second this month).
- The ABAA has posted a "Missing in Transit" notice for a number of autograph letters and a book from Stalin's library.
- The Petau Book of Hours sold at Drouot on Saturday for the equivalent of $5 million.
- Jessica Lester Hester writes for Atlas Obscura on the use of manuscript and printed waste in bookbindings.
- As the film about the 2004 Transylvania University special collections theft arrives in theaters, BJ Gooch, the librarian the thieves assaulted, has spoken about her experience to the Lexington Herald-Leader.
- If you can, be sure to stop by the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at UVA to see the new exhibition "Eminent Miniatures."
- Another week, another Voynich Manuscript theory.
- Alex Johnson writes for the Independent about the library brought along on Scott's Discovery expedition from 1901–1904.
- Really enjoyed the news that the Massachusetts Historical Society has installed a "little free library" on the front steps.
- New from the AAS, an illustrated inventory of the Society's collection of ribbon badges.
- From Caroline Duroselle-Melish at The Collation, "Engraved to Sell."
- David McKitterick has a short post on the Cambridge University Press blog about his new book The Invention of Rare Books.
- Fleur Macdonald reports for the BBC on the ongoing analysis of the manuscripts in the library of St. Catherine's monastery in the Sinai.
- Corey Kilgannon profiles Carolyn Waters, head librarian at the New York Society Library.
Review
- Giorgio van Straten's In Search of Lost Books; review by Alberto Manguel in the TLS.
Upcoming Auctions
- Five Aristophil sales this week: Beaux-arts, œuvres et correspondances (4) at Aguttes on 18 June; Littérature, écrivains et poètes du XIXe-XXe (5) at Drouot on 19 June; Littérature, écrivains et poètes du XIXe-XXe (6) at Aguttes on 19 June; Musique, de Jean-Sébastien Bach à Boulez (7) at Ader on 20 June; Musique, de Lully à Stravinsky (8) at Aguttes on 20 June.
- Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs at Lyon & Turnbull on 19 June.
- Fine Books, Manuscripts, Atlases & Historical Photographs at Bonhams London on 20 June.
- Printed Books, Maps & Documents at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 20 June.
- Autographed Documents, Manuscripts, Books & Relics at University Archives on 20 June.
- Revolutionary & Presidential Americana from the Collection of William Wheeler III at Swann Galleries on 21 June.
- Modern Literature & First Editions at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 21 June.
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Links & Reviews
- The Morgan Library & Museum has acquired a manuscript leaf by the Master of Catherine of Cleves.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge's coffin was recently identified in a crypt at St. Michael's Church in Highgate.
- Meaghan Brown highlights some free (and very handy) digital resources for early modern historical and literary research.
- Megan Hahn Fraser interviews Tom Knoles for Past is Present. The March 2018 AAS Almanac is also available.
- Rebecca Rego Barry rounds up some recently-published books on books.
- Kate Ozment has been compiling a Google Spreadsheet of women bibliographers, and continues to welcome contributions.
- Francis Wahlgren has joined Leslie Hindman Auctioneers as an exclusive consultant for its fine books and manuscripts department.
- Honglan Huang writes for the Yale Book History blog about Mary Serjant's seventeenth-century copybook.
- Sarah Laskow profiles "book towns" for Atlas Obscura.
- New from Oak Knoll and the Clements Library, The Pioneer Americanists: Early Collectors, Dealers, and Bibliographers.
- David Levy reports for the HRC blog about a T.J. Wise "sophistication" he found while researching Hoyle at the Ransom Center.
- The Chicago Botanic Garden has received an NEH grant to conserve and digitize its collection of rare books and manuscripts.
- Over on the Houghton Library blog, they've posted a few unidentified film stills; if you can help puzzle out the subjects, please do!
- Radio New Zealand reports on worries that the University of Auckland may literally incinerate thousands of books as it closes several libraries.
- David Whitesell writes for Notes from Under Grounds about the winners of the 52nd UVA student book collecting contest.
- A movie based on a 2004 Transylvania University special collections theft, "American Animals," opens in theaters on 1 June. Troubling, frankly, that anybody will be profiting off this attack, which left a librarian injured.
Reviews
- Jack Hartnell's Medieval Bodies; review by PD Smith in the Guardian.
- Alberto Manguel's Packing my Library; review by Claire Armitstead in the Guardian.
- Richard Powers' The Overstory; review by Barbara Kingsolver in the NYTimes.
- Jenny Uglow's Mr. Lear; review by Michael Dirda in the WaPo.
Upcoming Auctions
- The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks at Swann Galleries on 19 April.
- Livres Anciens & Manuscrits at Aguttes on 19 April.
- Illustrated & Children's Books - Fine Printing - Art & Photography - Books about Books at PBA Galleries on 19 April.
- Books and Documents at Australian Book Auctions on 23 April.
- Rare Books, Autographs & Maps at Doyle New York on 25 April.
- Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics at Swann Galleries on 26 April.
- Spring Magic Auction at Potter & Potter on 28 April.
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge's coffin was recently identified in a crypt at St. Michael's Church in Highgate.
- Meaghan Brown highlights some free (and very handy) digital resources for early modern historical and literary research.
- Megan Hahn Fraser interviews Tom Knoles for Past is Present. The March 2018 AAS Almanac is also available.
- Rebecca Rego Barry rounds up some recently-published books on books.
- Kate Ozment has been compiling a Google Spreadsheet of women bibliographers, and continues to welcome contributions.
- Francis Wahlgren has joined Leslie Hindman Auctioneers as an exclusive consultant for its fine books and manuscripts department.
- Honglan Huang writes for the Yale Book History blog about Mary Serjant's seventeenth-century copybook.
- Sarah Laskow profiles "book towns" for Atlas Obscura.
- New from Oak Knoll and the Clements Library, The Pioneer Americanists: Early Collectors, Dealers, and Bibliographers.
- David Levy reports for the HRC blog about a T.J. Wise "sophistication" he found while researching Hoyle at the Ransom Center.
- The Chicago Botanic Garden has received an NEH grant to conserve and digitize its collection of rare books and manuscripts.
- Over on the Houghton Library blog, they've posted a few unidentified film stills; if you can help puzzle out the subjects, please do!
- Radio New Zealand reports on worries that the University of Auckland may literally incinerate thousands of books as it closes several libraries.
- David Whitesell writes for Notes from Under Grounds about the winners of the 52nd UVA student book collecting contest.
- A movie based on a 2004 Transylvania University special collections theft, "American Animals," opens in theaters on 1 June. Troubling, frankly, that anybody will be profiting off this attack, which left a librarian injured.
Reviews
- Jack Hartnell's Medieval Bodies; review by PD Smith in the Guardian.
- Alberto Manguel's Packing my Library; review by Claire Armitstead in the Guardian.
- Richard Powers' The Overstory; review by Barbara Kingsolver in the NYTimes.
- Jenny Uglow's Mr. Lear; review by Michael Dirda in the WaPo.
Upcoming Auctions
- The Knowing Eye: Photographs & Photobooks at Swann Galleries on 19 April.
- Livres Anciens & Manuscrits at Aguttes on 19 April.
- Illustrated & Children's Books - Fine Printing - Art & Photography - Books about Books at PBA Galleries on 19 April.
- Books and Documents at Australian Book Auctions on 23 April.
- Rare Books, Autographs & Maps at Doyle New York on 25 April.
- Fine Illustrated Books & Graphics at Swann Galleries on 26 April.
- Spring Magic Auction at Potter & Potter on 28 April.
Sunday, May 06, 2012
Links & Reviews
- Everett Wilkie reported on ExLibris-L today that three of the "Transylvania Four": Charles Thomas Allen, Eric Borsuk, and Spencer Reinhard, were released from federal prison on Friday, 4 May. The fourth, Warren Lipka, is scheduled for release on 28 May.
- Former NARA curator Leslie Waffen was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised released. He was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. The AP's Jessica Gresko filed a piece this week recounting how Waffen's thefts came to be discovered.
- Neil Gaiman talked to the NYTimes about his reading habits; guaranteed to make you smile at one point or another.
- Analysts at the British Museum have determined that a John White map of the area around the Roanoke colony may include clues to the ultimate fate of the colony and its members. See the full report here [PDF].
- Draft pages of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince" will go on sale at Paris' Artcurial auction house on 16 May.
- Sid Lapidus' talk at the recent New York Book Fair on the nature of book collecting is now online.
- Some crazy and incredibly sad stuff going on in Canada, where Libraries and Archives Canada has been ordered to cut staff by 20% over three years (among other reductions). See an outline of the planned cuts here.
- Sarah Werner has posted the text of a talk she gave at the Geographies of Desire conference in late April, "Where Book Culture Meets Digital Humanities."
- From the AAS' Past is Present blog, Jackie Penny writes about finding Ansel Adams' name in the visitor logs.
- In Slate, E.O. Wilson talks to Liz Else about his new book The Social Conquest of Earth.
- Trinity College's Watkinson Library has acquired a Second Folio.
- It's been fascinating to watch the story about the discovery of a Paul Revere print at Brown make the rounds; this week it was featured in the New York Times.
- From The Millions, "Are eReaders Really Green?"
- A Voynich 100 conference will be held at Rome's Villa Mondragone on Friday, 11 May, to mark the 100th anniversary of the "discovery" of the Voynich Manuscript. Any readers going?
- J.L. Bell highlights a Ben Franklin letter which suggests Franklin may have been the American to write a description of tofu ("Tau-fu").
- A new crowd-sourcing project from the Bodleian Library, "What the score at the Bodleian?" aims to allow general users to assist with the cataloging of music scores.
- Also on crowd-sourcing, don't miss Jennifer Howard's Chronicle article, "Breaking Down Menus Digitally, Dish by Dish."
- Caleb Crain offers "A New Plan for the New York Public Library."
- A new issue of Common-place is up, with three feature essays on political history.
- May's AE Monthly is out.
- A report by NARA's inspector general on missing "top secret" materials at the Washington National Records Center is now available. It makes for fairly interesting reading, actually.
- William St Clair talked to The Browser about five books he considers key to the history of reading during the Romantic period.
Reviews
- Hilary Mantel's Bring up the Bodies; reviews by James Wood in The New Yorker, Janet Maslin in the NYTimes.
- Robert Caro's The Passage of Power; reviews by Bill Clinton in the NYTimes; Michiko Kakutani in the NYTimes;
- Ian Maclean's Scholarship, Commerce, Religion; review by Scott McLemee at Inside Higher Ed.
- G. Thomas Tanselle's Book-Jackets; review by James Ferguson in the TLS.
- Thomas Penn's Winter King; review by Nick Owchar in the LATimes.
- Peter Silverman's Leonardo's Lost Princess; review by T. Rees Shapiro in the WaPo.
- Charles Mann's 1491 and 1493; review by Jeremy Adelman in Foreign Affairs.
- Former NARA curator Leslie Waffen was sentenced this week to 18 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised released. He was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. The AP's Jessica Gresko filed a piece this week recounting how Waffen's thefts came to be discovered.
- Neil Gaiman talked to the NYTimes about his reading habits; guaranteed to make you smile at one point or another.
- Analysts at the British Museum have determined that a John White map of the area around the Roanoke colony may include clues to the ultimate fate of the colony and its members. See the full report here [PDF].
- Draft pages of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince" will go on sale at Paris' Artcurial auction house on 16 May.
- Sid Lapidus' talk at the recent New York Book Fair on the nature of book collecting is now online.
- Some crazy and incredibly sad stuff going on in Canada, where Libraries and Archives Canada has been ordered to cut staff by 20% over three years (among other reductions). See an outline of the planned cuts here.
- Sarah Werner has posted the text of a talk she gave at the Geographies of Desire conference in late April, "Where Book Culture Meets Digital Humanities."
- From the AAS' Past is Present blog, Jackie Penny writes about finding Ansel Adams' name in the visitor logs.
- In Slate, E.O. Wilson talks to Liz Else about his new book The Social Conquest of Earth.
- Trinity College's Watkinson Library has acquired a Second Folio.
- It's been fascinating to watch the story about the discovery of a Paul Revere print at Brown make the rounds; this week it was featured in the New York Times.
- From The Millions, "Are eReaders Really Green?"
- A Voynich 100 conference will be held at Rome's Villa Mondragone on Friday, 11 May, to mark the 100th anniversary of the "discovery" of the Voynich Manuscript. Any readers going?
- J.L. Bell highlights a Ben Franklin letter which suggests Franklin may have been the American to write a description of tofu ("Tau-fu").
- A new crowd-sourcing project from the Bodleian Library, "What the score at the Bodleian?" aims to allow general users to assist with the cataloging of music scores.
- Also on crowd-sourcing, don't miss Jennifer Howard's Chronicle article, "Breaking Down Menus Digitally, Dish by Dish."
- Caleb Crain offers "A New Plan for the New York Public Library."
- A new issue of Common-place is up, with three feature essays on political history.
- May's AE Monthly is out.
- A report by NARA's inspector general on missing "top secret" materials at the Washington National Records Center is now available. It makes for fairly interesting reading, actually.
- William St Clair talked to The Browser about five books he considers key to the history of reading during the Romantic period.
Reviews
- Hilary Mantel's Bring up the Bodies; reviews by James Wood in The New Yorker, Janet Maslin in the NYTimes.
- Robert Caro's The Passage of Power; reviews by Bill Clinton in the NYTimes; Michiko Kakutani in the NYTimes;
- Ian Maclean's Scholarship, Commerce, Religion; review by Scott McLemee at Inside Higher Ed.
- G. Thomas Tanselle's Book-Jackets; review by James Ferguson in the TLS.
- Thomas Penn's Winter King; review by Nick Owchar in the LATimes.
- Peter Silverman's Leonardo's Lost Princess; review by T. Rees Shapiro in the WaPo.
- Charles Mann's 1491 and 1493; review by Jeremy Adelman in Foreign Affairs.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Links & Reviews
- The panels from this fall's "Why Books?" conference (my report) are now available in iTunes, so if you missed it, you can catch up on the excellent talks.
- One of the Transylvania Four thieves has self-published a book about the heist, Mr. Pink (available from several Kentucky bookstores, not that I'm recommending purchasing it). Travis McDade recaps the thefts and comments on Allen's book in an NPR segment (mp3).
- In the Telegraph, a look ahead to the new books that will hit (UK) shelves in 2011.
- AE Monthly reports that Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and the auction house Dominic Winter have settled their lawsuit, which stems from the David Slade thefts.
- The NYTimes "Windows on the World" series features Jorge Luis Borges' library window.
- Also in AE Monthly, Bruce McKinney reflects on the "American Experience" sale at Bonhams in December (my report), noting that overall the sale brought a 20% premium over the original purchase prices, and that the "high spots" continued to sell well while "less rare" items fell behind.
- In the NYTimes this week, some excellent coverage for the Bentham Project's crowdsourced transcription efforts.
- From BibliOdyssey, some early natural history watercolors from a South Carolina artist.
- "Arts & Letters Daily" editor Denis Dutton has died. The Chronicle of Higher Education has signaled that it will continue the site.
- Alberto Manguel has posted a list [PDF] of his hundred favorite books.
- The Top 500 Auction sales for 2010, as tracked by Michael Stillman. Number 500 sold for $47,806, an 8.5% rise over last year.
- Durham University has revealed its plans for restoration work on its recovered First Folio, including paper repairs and a new binding. Meanwhile, Raymond Scott speaks to the Sunday Sun about his time in prison, noting a visit to the prison library where he jokingly tried to make off with a copy of Shakespeare's works. This interview seems to contradict the last Scott rumor we had, that he was working in the prison library).
- Daniel Mendelsohn's piece in this week's New Yorker on the Vatican Library and its staff is absolutely a must-read (it's not all online, so go buy the magazine or subscribe online). Also check out the slideshow of Vatican manuscripts.
Reviews
- Robert Morrison's The English Opium-Eater; review by Michael Dirda in the WaPo.
- The Autobiography of Mark Twain; review by James Campbell in the Telegraph.
- Pauline Maier's Ratification; review by Rosemary Zagarri in the WaPo.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Looking Back
As 2009 makes its arrival (in a bone-chilling way here in Boston: it's currently 6 degrees, with a wind chill making it feel like -13), The Guardian looks back at 2008 in books, an interesting compilation of last year's biblio-news.
Concerning other matters of interest (presumably) to you all, dear readers, here are some of the highlights and lowlights (mostly the latter, unfortunately) from 2008 in book crime. The hyperlinks on each person's name will take you to previous posts related to their crimes. Following the chronology is a list of thefts from this year which remain unsolved.
- The Transy Four failed in their bid to obtain reduced prison sentences when a three-judge panel on the Court of Appeals ruled that they should have received more prison time rather than less. (February) Unfortunately their trial judge ignored the appeals court and let her original sentences stand. (October)
- Eight books stolen from a Slovakian library in December 2007 were recovered in a Bupadest bookshop. (February)
- Jay Miller was sentenced to an eighteen-month prison term for the theft of rare books and antiques from the estate of retired Harvard professor William Ernest Hocking. (March) He was released from prison after only seven months. (November)
- Oliver Fallon, who stole materials from the Scottish Catholic Archive in Edinburgh, was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and ordered to pay a fine of £16,000. (May)
- Peter Joseph Bellwood was sentenced to one year in prison, to be followed by five years' expulsion from Denmark, and ordered to pay a 324,000 kroner ($67,000) fine for the theft of maps from the collections of the Danish Royal Library. (May) Bellwood is currently serving a 4.5-year prison term in Britain for thefts from the National Library of Wales.
- William Simon Jacques, suspected of stealing books from the Royal Horticultural Society in London, skipped bail and is believed to remain at large. (May)
- Raymond Scott, an eccentric British book dealer, was arrested after the recovery of Durham University's First Folio, which Scott took to the Folger Library for authentication. (July) Scott filed suit against the university claiming it's not their Folio (October), but was was later re-arrested in the First Folio case, and then again for stealing books from a Waterstone's shop (November)
- In the case of César Gómez Rivero, Spanish paper El Pais reported that two South American associates of Rivero had been identified, and that investigations continue. (August)
- Richard Delaney, who stole £89,000 worth of rare books and maps from Birmingham University, was sentenced to a one-year prison term (which the judge ordered suspended for eighteen months). (August)
- Eugene Zollman was indicted on charges that he stole Jefferson Davis materials from Transylvania University in 1994. The case was assigned to judge Jennifer Coffman, the same judge who ruled in the Transy Four case. Zollman's case is pending. (August)
- James Brubaker was sentenced to 30 months and prison and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to more than 100 libraries from which he stole more than 1000 items. (September)
- Edward Renehan, former head of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, was sentenced to an eighteen-month prison term, plus two years of supervised release and the forfeiture of $86,700 (which he'd received for the sale of letters he stole from the TRA's collections). (September)
- Several books stolen from a Vienna bookshop in October 2007 were recovered in Toronto, but the suspects in the case were not expected to face charges. Other books from the heist had been recovered earlier in Europe. (October)
- Joshua McCarty and two associates (Zachary Scranton and Angela Bays) were arrested in relation to the theft of two rare Ohio law books from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center (September). McCarty and Scranton were later indicted (October). The case is still pending, so far as I can tell.
- Daniel Lorello, a former employee at the New York State Archives who stole items from the State Library, was sentenced to 2-6 years in prison (which I still think is an awfully wide range), ordered to pay $129,500 in restitution, to be divided among people who unknowingly bought stolen property, and agreed to forfeit his personal collection of historic artifacts and documents, valued at approximately $80,000, to the New York State Library and Archives. (October)
- Denning McTague, who stole Civil War documents from the National Archives in Philadelphia while working there as an intern, was released from prison after serving twelve months of a fifteen-month term. (October)
- Book collector Farhad Hakimzadeh was arrested on charges that he defaced more than 150 books at several British libraries in order to "improve his personal collection" with the illustrations and maps. (November) He'll be sentenced this month.
- Laessio Rodrigues de Oliveira was sentenced to five years in prison for the theft of several rare books from the Institute for Research Botanical Garden in Rio de Janeiro. (December)
- Lester Weber, former curator of the Mariners' Museum, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to theft, mail fraud and filing false tax returns. Weber stole more than 3,500 documents from the museum and sold them on eBay (most have not been recovered). Weber's wife, Lori Childs, was sentenced to a fifteen-month prison term for filing a false tax return. (December)
The following thefts from 2008 remain unsolved (as far as I know):
- A large collection of maps and atlases, stolen from a London collector's office in December.
- A number of rare books stolen from a display case at Boston's Old South Church in September.
- A Mark Twain letter, reported missing after the Denver Book Fair in August.
- Four manuscript diaries from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, stolen at Boston's South Station in March.
Updates or additions always appreciated.
Concerning other matters of interest (presumably) to you all, dear readers, here are some of the highlights and lowlights (mostly the latter, unfortunately) from 2008 in book crime. The hyperlinks on each person's name will take you to previous posts related to their crimes. Following the chronology is a list of thefts from this year which remain unsolved.
- The Transy Four failed in their bid to obtain reduced prison sentences when a three-judge panel on the Court of Appeals ruled that they should have received more prison time rather than less. (February) Unfortunately their trial judge ignored the appeals court and let her original sentences stand. (October)
- Eight books stolen from a Slovakian library in December 2007 were recovered in a Bupadest bookshop. (February)
- Jay Miller was sentenced to an eighteen-month prison term for the theft of rare books and antiques from the estate of retired Harvard professor William Ernest Hocking. (March) He was released from prison after only seven months. (November)
- Oliver Fallon, who stole materials from the Scottish Catholic Archive in Edinburgh, was sentenced to 300 hours of community service and ordered to pay a fine of £16,000. (May)
- Peter Joseph Bellwood was sentenced to one year in prison, to be followed by five years' expulsion from Denmark, and ordered to pay a 324,000 kroner ($67,000) fine for the theft of maps from the collections of the Danish Royal Library. (May) Bellwood is currently serving a 4.5-year prison term in Britain for thefts from the National Library of Wales.
- William Simon Jacques, suspected of stealing books from the Royal Horticultural Society in London, skipped bail and is believed to remain at large. (May)
- Raymond Scott, an eccentric British book dealer, was arrested after the recovery of Durham University's First Folio, which Scott took to the Folger Library for authentication. (July) Scott filed suit against the university claiming it's not their Folio (October), but was was later re-arrested in the First Folio case, and then again for stealing books from a Waterstone's shop (November)
- In the case of César Gómez Rivero, Spanish paper El Pais reported that two South American associates of Rivero had been identified, and that investigations continue. (August)
- Richard Delaney, who stole £89,000 worth of rare books and maps from Birmingham University, was sentenced to a one-year prison term (which the judge ordered suspended for eighteen months). (August)
- Eugene Zollman was indicted on charges that he stole Jefferson Davis materials from Transylvania University in 1994. The case was assigned to judge Jennifer Coffman, the same judge who ruled in the Transy Four case. Zollman's case is pending. (August)
- James Brubaker was sentenced to 30 months and prison and ordered to pay $200,000 in restitution to more than 100 libraries from which he stole more than 1000 items. (September)
- Edward Renehan, former head of the Theodore Roosevelt Association, was sentenced to an eighteen-month prison term, plus two years of supervised release and the forfeiture of $86,700 (which he'd received for the sale of letters he stole from the TRA's collections). (September)
- Several books stolen from a Vienna bookshop in October 2007 were recovered in Toronto, but the suspects in the case were not expected to face charges. Other books from the heist had been recovered earlier in Europe. (October)
- Joshua McCarty and two associates (Zachary Scranton and Angela Bays) were arrested in relation to the theft of two rare Ohio law books from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center (September). McCarty and Scranton were later indicted (October). The case is still pending, so far as I can tell.
- Daniel Lorello, a former employee at the New York State Archives who stole items from the State Library, was sentenced to 2-6 years in prison (which I still think is an awfully wide range), ordered to pay $129,500 in restitution, to be divided among people who unknowingly bought stolen property, and agreed to forfeit his personal collection of historic artifacts and documents, valued at approximately $80,000, to the New York State Library and Archives. (October)
- Denning McTague, who stole Civil War documents from the National Archives in Philadelphia while working there as an intern, was released from prison after serving twelve months of a fifteen-month term. (October)
- Book collector Farhad Hakimzadeh was arrested on charges that he defaced more than 150 books at several British libraries in order to "improve his personal collection" with the illustrations and maps. (November) He'll be sentenced this month.
- Laessio Rodrigues de Oliveira was sentenced to five years in prison for the theft of several rare books from the Institute for Research Botanical Garden in Rio de Janeiro. (December)
- Lester Weber, former curator of the Mariners' Museum, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to theft, mail fraud and filing false tax returns. Weber stole more than 3,500 documents from the museum and sold them on eBay (most have not been recovered). Weber's wife, Lori Childs, was sentenced to a fifteen-month prison term for filing a false tax return. (December)
The following thefts from 2008 remain unsolved (as far as I know):
- A large collection of maps and atlases, stolen from a London collector's office in December.
- A number of rare books stolen from a display case at Boston's Old South Church in September.
- A Mark Twain letter, reported missing after the Denver Book Fair in August.
- Four manuscript diaries from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, stolen at Boston's South Station in March.
Updates or additions always appreciated.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Judges Declines to Increase Terms for Transy Four
In February, a three-judge panel of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the goons who stole rare books from the Transylvania University (and assaulted the rare books librarian there) - we know them as the Transy Four - should have had some time added to their sentences since the trial court failed to factor certain elements of the crime into its sentence. They sent the case back to the trial judge, Jennifer Coffman, for further consideration.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports this afternoon that Coffman has chosen to ignore the judgment of the Court of Appeals, saying "she would have imposed the same sentence even if she had considered the tougher sentencing guidelines."
Not exactly a surprise, but considering the original appeal was launched by the Four themselves in a bid to get less jail time, an additional bit would have been awfully appropriate.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports this afternoon that Coffman has chosen to ignore the judgment of the Court of Appeals, saying "she would have imposed the same sentence even if she had considered the tougher sentencing guidelines."
Not exactly a surprise, but considering the original appeal was launched by the Four themselves in a bid to get less jail time, an additional bit would have been awfully appropriate.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Good News for Justice
Yesterday I noted the Zollman indictment; Travis has some excellent followup on that today, reporting: "The case has been assigned to Judge Jennifer Coffman, a former librarian and the judge in the Transy Four case. The case is being prosecuted by David Marye, the prosecutor in the Transy Four case."
This is super news, since we know from that prior case that both Marye and Coffman are extremely serious about prosecuting bibliocrimes. Travis advises Zollman "plead guilty as soon as possible." I suppose if I were advising Zollman, I'd say that too. But I'm not, so I'd like to see this case go to trial and Zollman get the maximum possible penalty.
This is super news, since we know from that prior case that both Marye and Coffman are extremely serious about prosecuting bibliocrimes. Travis advises Zollman "plead guilty as soon as possible." I suppose if I were advising Zollman, I'd say that too. But I'm not, so I'd like to see this case go to trial and Zollman get the maximum possible penalty.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Links & Reviews
Apologies for the lateness of this post: this morning was so beautiful that I spent it outside doing a little birding rather than catching up on my link-gathering. One of my favorite spots, Jamaica Plain's Arnold Arboretum, was mobbed by Mother's Day crowds enjoying the Lilac Festival, so I went to a new (to me) spot, the park-like and wonderful Forest Hills Cemetery. In just under four hours of birding I had fifty-three species, including a gorgeous Cape May warbler, a life bird for me. Quite a delightful way to spend a few hours.
- In today's NYTimes, Virginia Heffernan has an essay on Oxford University Press' decision not to print a new edition of the OED (the Dictionary will be updated online, as it has been in recent years).
- A reminder from NPR giving another good reason to collect books instead of, oh, antique ammunition.
- The Washington Post reported this week on a study by WI-based Renaissance Learning exploring childrens' reading habits. Some very interesting findings, actually. The top-five books for first-graders through high-schoolers are here - the number of "classics" is quite surprising, and heartening.
- From BibliOdyssey, images from Ole Worm's Danicorum Monumentorum (1643), a book on Scandinavian rune stones.
- LIS News has been providing dispatches from Schenectady, where plans to renovate the main branch of the public library called for complete closure of the building for 10-12 months. Plans have now been put on hold, the Daily Gazette reports, so that additional bids can be obtained.
- Paul Collins notes a possible "lost book" reported in a letter to The Guardian: a 1934 Nigel Dennis novel titled Chalk and Cheese, the entire run of which the letter-writers believes to have been destroyed in an air raid. Not quite so, according to WorldCat: the New York Public Library holds a copy of the book (which was published under the pseudonym Richard Vaughan). If their cataloging is correct, then, Chalk and Cheese: A Co-educational School Novel is not lost, just quite rare indeed.
- K.G. Schneider at Free Range Librarian has a thoughtful post on tagging, which bounces off Tim's earlier post "The Long Tail of Ann Coulter" (funny, I would have thought forked tail, but long'll work). Both of them discuss why tagging-in-library-catalogs hasn't really taken off all that well, with the exception of LibraryThing for Libraries, which provides LT-user tags to library catalogs. They're both right: I would be quite unlikely to tag things in a library catalog (and don't on Amazon), whereas if I'm putting something in my own library for my own purposes, I will tag it. Which is why offering LT-tags to libraries makes sense - even if the tags might not be exactly those the library's own users would add, at least they are (for the most part) considered and useful (rather than Amazon's silliness).
- Travis updates us on the Transy Four: "Warren Lipka has been transferred from his old Kentucky home to the federal correctional institute in Elkton, Ohio. His boy Spence Reinhard is now at the FCI in Fort Dix, New Jersey. Charles Allen and Eric Borsuk remain in Kentucky, but at different prisons." Travis also points out some feedback to Paul Constant's book thief story: a book thief writing in to explain why he does what he does.
- The ALA's list of most-challenged books for 2007 is out, topped once again by And Tango Makes Three. But there is some good news: "Overall, the number of reported library challenges dropped from 546 in 2006 to 420 last year, well below the mid-1990s, when complaints topped 750."
- Also via LISNews, word that the Internet Archive "successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the order public." More from the Washington Post.
Reviews
- Cokie Roberts' new book, Ladies of Liberty, receives a glowing review by Charlotte Hays in the Washington Post. I can't ethically review this one myself (my name appears in the acknowledgments) but I am certainly looking forward to reading it.
- In Salon, Louis Bayard reviews Tony Horwitz's A Journey Long and Strange.
- For the New Yorker, Jill Lepore reviews several new technological histories.
- In today's NYTimes, Virginia Heffernan has an essay on Oxford University Press' decision not to print a new edition of the OED (the Dictionary will be updated online, as it has been in recent years).
- A reminder from NPR giving another good reason to collect books instead of, oh, antique ammunition.
- The Washington Post reported this week on a study by WI-based Renaissance Learning exploring childrens' reading habits. Some very interesting findings, actually. The top-five books for first-graders through high-schoolers are here - the number of "classics" is quite surprising, and heartening.
- From BibliOdyssey, images from Ole Worm's Danicorum Monumentorum (1643), a book on Scandinavian rune stones.
- LIS News has been providing dispatches from Schenectady, where plans to renovate the main branch of the public library called for complete closure of the building for 10-12 months. Plans have now been put on hold, the Daily Gazette reports, so that additional bids can be obtained.
- Paul Collins notes a possible "lost book" reported in a letter to The Guardian: a 1934 Nigel Dennis novel titled Chalk and Cheese, the entire run of which the letter-writers believes to have been destroyed in an air raid. Not quite so, according to WorldCat: the New York Public Library holds a copy of the book (which was published under the pseudonym Richard Vaughan). If their cataloging is correct, then, Chalk and Cheese: A Co-educational School Novel is not lost, just quite rare indeed.
- K.G. Schneider at Free Range Librarian has a thoughtful post on tagging, which bounces off Tim's earlier post "The Long Tail of Ann Coulter" (funny, I would have thought forked tail, but long'll work). Both of them discuss why tagging-in-library-catalogs hasn't really taken off all that well, with the exception of LibraryThing for Libraries, which provides LT-user tags to library catalogs. They're both right: I would be quite unlikely to tag things in a library catalog (and don't on Amazon), whereas if I'm putting something in my own library for my own purposes, I will tag it. Which is why offering LT-tags to libraries makes sense - even if the tags might not be exactly those the library's own users would add, at least they are (for the most part) considered and useful (rather than Amazon's silliness).
- Travis updates us on the Transy Four: "Warren Lipka has been transferred from his old Kentucky home to the federal correctional institute in Elkton, Ohio. His boy Spence Reinhard is now at the FCI in Fort Dix, New Jersey. Charles Allen and Eric Borsuk remain in Kentucky, but at different prisons." Travis also points out some feedback to Paul Constant's book thief story: a book thief writing in to explain why he does what he does.
- The ALA's list of most-challenged books for 2007 is out, topped once again by And Tango Makes Three. But there is some good news: "Overall, the number of reported library challenges dropped from 546 in 2006 to 420 last year, well below the mid-1990s, when complaints topped 750."
- Also via LISNews, word that the Internet Archive "successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the order public." More from the Washington Post.
Reviews
- Cokie Roberts' new book, Ladies of Liberty, receives a glowing review by Charlotte Hays in the Washington Post. I can't ethically review this one myself (my name appears in the acknowledgments) but I am certainly looking forward to reading it.
- In Salon, Louis Bayard reviews Tony Horwitz's A Journey Long and Strange.
- For the New Yorker, Jill Lepore reviews several new technological histories.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Well It Really Was Only a Matter of Time ...
A commenter reports that the inevitable has happened: the Transy Four are about to get their movie. W Magazine notes this month (the URL is not working at the moment) that documentary filmmaker Nanette Burstein is adapting the November Vanity Fair article about the boys.
Shocking.
I'm working to get more information.
[Update: Here's the W Magazine piece. Under "Director's Next Project": "A feature adaptation of a December 2007 Vanity Fair story about college guys who steal rare books." Yup, sounds about right.]
Shocking.
I'm working to get more information.
[Update: Here's the W Magazine piece. Under "Director's Next Project": "A feature adaptation of a December 2007 Vanity Fair story about college guys who steal rare books." Yup, sounds about right.]
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Reactions to Transy Four Decision
The Sixth Circuit's opinion in the case of the Transy Four, released yesterday, doesn't seem to have garnered too much news coverage this morning, but the Lexington Herald-Leader does have a lengthy piece on the decision.
Beth Musgrave reports "Attorneys for the men said they were not sure whether their clients would appeal the decision to the full Sixth Circuit or to the U.S. Supreme Court. Even if the appellate court's decision goes unchallenged, there is a chance that the sentence will remain the same, defense lawyers said." Fred Peters, an attorney for Eric Borsuk, said that because the sentencing guidelines are no longer mandatory, the district court judge could let her original 87-month sentence stand. Possible, I suppose, but it seems unlikely.
Peters told Musgrave that he felt the recent Vanity Fair article about the heist, published weeks before the boys argued their appeal to the Sixth Circuit, didn't do them any favors. "I really think that the Vanity Fair article hurt those guys," he said.
A lawyer for Charles Allen "said he has not yet spoken to him and said it was too early to say whether they would appeal the decision. Nash said Allen's decision would not be dependent on what the other three decide." Lawyers for Warren C. Lipka and Spencer Reinhard did not comment. Musgrave's report also notes that Reinhard and Lipka were scheduled to be moved out of the federal prison in Ashland, KY soon, "in part because of the Vanity Fair article."
Beth Musgrave reports "Attorneys for the men said they were not sure whether their clients would appeal the decision to the full Sixth Circuit or to the U.S. Supreme Court. Even if the appellate court's decision goes unchallenged, there is a chance that the sentence will remain the same, defense lawyers said." Fred Peters, an attorney for Eric Borsuk, said that because the sentencing guidelines are no longer mandatory, the district court judge could let her original 87-month sentence stand. Possible, I suppose, but it seems unlikely.
Peters told Musgrave that he felt the recent Vanity Fair article about the heist, published weeks before the boys argued their appeal to the Sixth Circuit, didn't do them any favors. "I really think that the Vanity Fair article hurt those guys," he said.
A lawyer for Charles Allen "said he has not yet spoken to him and said it was too early to say whether they would appeal the decision. Nash said Allen's decision would not be dependent on what the other three decide." Lawyers for Warren C. Lipka and Spencer Reinhard did not comment. Musgrave's report also notes that Reinhard and Lipka were scheduled to be moved out of the federal prison in Ashland, KY soon, "in part because of the Vanity Fair article."
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Transy Four Decision Released
Back in December, I noted that the Transy Four had appealed their sentences before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Today that court released its decision [PDF], as Travis first reported. Turns out the boys should not have held out their hands for more.
The sixteen-page decision, which consolidates all four thieves' appeals, finds "no merit to any of defendants' arguments," (those are outlined here and in today's opinion) but agreed with the government's counter-appeal that the trial court had not taken into sufficient account the books which the Four had intended to steal but dropped on the way out of the library.
"The government contends that the district court erred by omitting from its loss computation the two volumes of Birds of North America and the two volumes of Quadrupeds that Lipka and Borsuk dropped in the stairwell when they were assailed by Ms. Brown [the library director]. From this starting point, the value of the loss - even under the defendants' valuation estimates - would have been over $1,000,000 rather than $735,000; the sentence enhancement would have been 16 rather than 14; and the advisory guideline range would have been 108 to 135 months rather than 87 to 108 months [the Four received 87-month sentences]."
The decision goes on to say "Based on our reading of the cases and the guidelines, we hold that a robber 'takes' an object ... when the robber exercises dominion and control over that object, such that the robber has completed the acts necessary to seize that object." They conclude that the Four thus "took" more of the rare books than the trial court found, and remand the case to the district court "to reconsider its sentence in light of this opinion."
After initial concern, Travis concludes that the Sixth Circuit "got it right." I concur. He adds a link to his earlier discussion "At what point is an item 'stolen'?" There, he takes the precise position as the Sixth Circuit in today's opinion.
Now we'll keep an eye on the district court to see how the sentences change in light of this decision.
[Update: Travis offers part one of a more detailed legal analysis of the decision. More tomorrow.]
The sixteen-page decision, which consolidates all four thieves' appeals, finds "no merit to any of defendants' arguments," (those are outlined here and in today's opinion) but agreed with the government's counter-appeal that the trial court had not taken into sufficient account the books which the Four had intended to steal but dropped on the way out of the library.
"The government contends that the district court erred by omitting from its loss computation the two volumes of Birds of North America and the two volumes of Quadrupeds that Lipka and Borsuk dropped in the stairwell when they were assailed by Ms. Brown [the library director]. From this starting point, the value of the loss - even under the defendants' valuation estimates - would have been over $1,000,000 rather than $735,000; the sentence enhancement would have been 16 rather than 14; and the advisory guideline range would have been 108 to 135 months rather than 87 to 108 months [the Four received 87-month sentences]."
The decision goes on to say "Based on our reading of the cases and the guidelines, we hold that a robber 'takes' an object ... when the robber exercises dominion and control over that object, such that the robber has completed the acts necessary to seize that object." They conclude that the Four thus "took" more of the rare books than the trial court found, and remand the case to the district court "to reconsider its sentence in light of this opinion."
After initial concern, Travis concludes that the Sixth Circuit "got it right." I concur. He adds a link to his earlier discussion "At what point is an item 'stolen'?" There, he takes the precise position as the Sixth Circuit in today's opinion.
Now we'll keep an eye on the district court to see how the sentences change in light of this decision.
[Update: Travis offers part one of a more detailed legal analysis of the decision. More tomorrow.]
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Links & Reviews
Since my list of things to link to was starting to overflow, an extra collection of links this week:
- BibliOdyssey has engravings from works on magnetism by Athanasius Kircher. I'm partial to the last image (and the story behind it). They've also got a miscellany post with a little bit of everything.
- There's a new blog in town: Notes for Bibliophiles, by the Special Collections staff at the Providence Public Library. Good stuff. I've added a link.
- The Telegraph reports that the British Library has paid £1.1 million for the papers of Sir Harold Pinter. "Highlights include a run of letters from the Irish writer Samuel Beckett, an 'amusing' exchange of correspondence with the poet Philip Larkin, and a draft of Sir Harold's unpublished memoirs of his youth, The Queen Of All The Fairies." The BL plans to have the collection processed and open to researchers by the end of next year.
- Critical Mass reports the results of a survey on the ethics of book reviewing.
- Travis comments on the appeals of the Transy Four, noting in conclusion "I don’t know the likelihood of these arguments convincing three (or, I guess, only two) federal appeals judges to remand back to the district court for re-sentencing, but I can’t imagine the odds are in the boys’ favor. It seems to me that the sentencing judge got it about right. But I’m happy to see these idiots spending whatever money they have left on an attenuated appeals process." Read the whole post.
- Ian is back with a whole series of good posts at Lux Mentis, Lux Orbis - he includes some awfully nice words about my meager efforts here.
- Scott Brown comments on the end of the Crockett Contretemps, and includes some of Kevin Mac Dowell's thoughts as posted on Ex-Libris.
- BibliOdyssey has engravings from works on magnetism by Athanasius Kircher. I'm partial to the last image (and the story behind it). They've also got a miscellany post with a little bit of everything.
- There's a new blog in town: Notes for Bibliophiles, by the Special Collections staff at the Providence Public Library. Good stuff. I've added a link.
- The Telegraph reports that the British Library has paid £1.1 million for the papers of Sir Harold Pinter. "Highlights include a run of letters from the Irish writer Samuel Beckett, an 'amusing' exchange of correspondence with the poet Philip Larkin, and a draft of Sir Harold's unpublished memoirs of his youth, The Queen Of All The Fairies." The BL plans to have the collection processed and open to researchers by the end of next year.
- Critical Mass reports the results of a survey on the ethics of book reviewing.
- Travis comments on the appeals of the Transy Four, noting in conclusion "I don’t know the likelihood of these arguments convincing three (or, I guess, only two) federal appeals judges to remand back to the district court for re-sentencing, but I can’t imagine the odds are in the boys’ favor. It seems to me that the sentencing judge got it about right. But I’m happy to see these idiots spending whatever money they have left on an attenuated appeals process." Read the whole post.
- Ian is back with a whole series of good posts at Lux Mentis, Lux Orbis - he includes some awfully nice words about my meager efforts here.
- Scott Brown comments on the end of the Crockett Contretemps, and includes some of Kevin Mac Dowell's thoughts as posted on Ex-Libris.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Transy Thieves Want Shorter Sentences
The four men currently serving 87-month prison terms for assaulting a librarian and stealing rare books from Transylvania University back in December 2004 were in court yesterday, seeking reductions of their sentences.
"Defense attorneys and federal prosecutors appealed the sentence on different grounds. Defense lawyers, in oral arguments before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, argued that [U.S. District Judge Jennifer] Coffman erred when she ruled that a stun pen used to subdue Transy librarian B.J. Gooch during the heist was a dangerous weapon. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the use of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime increases the amount of time spent in prison. In the case of the four men, the finding that a dangerous weapon was used translated to about a 17-month increase in their sentence."
Prosecutors argued that 87 months was in fact too light a sentence, saying that Coffman, "when calculating the loss to the university, failed to add the value of several books that Borsuk and Lipka dropped in a stairwell when they were leaving the special-collections library. ... Coffman calculated that the loss to the university was about $735,000. But if the books, including two volumes of Audubon's Birds of America, that the men had intended to steal but dropped were included in that tally, the men would have received an additional 21 months in federal prison."
The attorney for one of the thieves, Charles Allen, argued that his client's sentence should have been lower because Allen's role was minor. The lawyer also claimed that federal prosecutors had "violated an agreement between Allen and investigators."
"The three-judge panel did not issue a ruling after yesterday's hearing in federal court in Cincinnati. If the panel decides Coffman erred, the case will be remanded to the federal district court and the men will be resentenced."
We know from their December Vanity Fair article that these guys have expressed no remorse for what they did. They deserve to serve every second of those 87 months, and if prosecutors can make their case for more time, all the better.
"Defense attorneys and federal prosecutors appealed the sentence on different grounds. Defense lawyers, in oral arguments before a three-judge panel of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday, argued that [U.S. District Judge Jennifer] Coffman erred when she ruled that a stun pen used to subdue Transy librarian B.J. Gooch during the heist was a dangerous weapon. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the use of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime increases the amount of time spent in prison. In the case of the four men, the finding that a dangerous weapon was used translated to about a 17-month increase in their sentence."
Prosecutors argued that 87 months was in fact too light a sentence, saying that Coffman, "when calculating the loss to the university, failed to add the value of several books that Borsuk and Lipka dropped in a stairwell when they were leaving the special-collections library. ... Coffman calculated that the loss to the university was about $735,000. But if the books, including two volumes of Audubon's Birds of America, that the men had intended to steal but dropped were included in that tally, the men would have received an additional 21 months in federal prison."
The attorney for one of the thieves, Charles Allen, argued that his client's sentence should have been lower because Allen's role was minor. The lawyer also claimed that federal prosecutors had "violated an agreement between Allen and investigators."
"The three-judge panel did not issue a ruling after yesterday's hearing in federal court in Cincinnati. If the panel decides Coffman erred, the case will be remanded to the federal district court and the men will be resentenced."
We know from their December Vanity Fair article that these guys have expressed no remorse for what they did. They deserve to serve every second of those 87 months, and if prosecutors can make their case for more time, all the better.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Transylvania Thieves Talk
Delano Massey reports in today's Lexington Herald-Leader that three of the four "men" convicted of assaulting a librarian and stealing rare books from Transylvania University three years ago have been interviewed for a December Vanity Fair article, "Majoring in Crime." That article isn't available online, but Massey provides a summary and some very noteworthy outside comments.
Eric Borsuk, Warren Lipka and Spencer Reinhard, all serving seven-year sentences at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, KY agreed to be interviewed; Charles Allen did not. A lawyer for Borsuk said he had advised his client not to talk to reporters, at least until after a scheduled appeal before the 6th Circuit (the men are trying to get their sentences reduced). Fred Peters told Massey "if he [Borsuk] did grant them an interview, it would be against my objection. He shouldn't do anything until the appeal is over. A judge could see the story and make a different ruling." He added that he "can't imagine it helping" Borsuk's case.
But the interviews were granted, and I hope the judge reads the resulting article: Massey reports that the thugs "express no regret for the crime, except for harming [B.J.] Gooch, the librarian." Gooch was stunned, blindfolded and "hogtied" while the thieves snatched rare books, including volumes of Audubon's Birds of America. A spokesperson for the university said she was interested to read the article, and that she is "concerned about inaccuracies and embellishments."
The scheme, which Massey describes as "hatched in a haze of marijuana smoke, with inspiration from popular heist flicks" was motivated by "a desire to escape the 'mundane, nickel-and-dime existence' of suburbia," according to one of the felons. Borsuk tells Falk if they'd pulled it off [a ludicrous idea, really], "they would have lived a 'crazy life thinking we were Ocean's 11 types.'" Lipka adds "In a few years we'll be released. We'll all be ... still young. We will be stronger, better, wiser for going through this together, the three of us. Before, in college, growing up, we were being funneled into this mundane, nickel-and-dime existence. Now we can't ever go back there. Even if we wanted to, they won't let us."
These guys are doing their level best to glamorize their story and make themselves into some kind of counter-cultural super-thieves. How long do you think it'll be before the movie deal's announced? Ridiculous. Here it is, simply put: these are four small-time suburbanite potheads who violently assaulted a librarian and stole major cultural treasures. That's nothing to be proud of. I do hope the judges who hear their appeal read both Massey's and Falk's articles, because it's clear to me that these twerps need every minute of jail time they can get.
Eric Borsuk, Warren Lipka and Spencer Reinhard, all serving seven-year sentences at the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, KY agreed to be interviewed; Charles Allen did not. A lawyer for Borsuk said he had advised his client not to talk to reporters, at least until after a scheduled appeal before the 6th Circuit (the men are trying to get their sentences reduced). Fred Peters told Massey "if he [Borsuk] did grant them an interview, it would be against my objection. He shouldn't do anything until the appeal is over. A judge could see the story and make a different ruling." He added that he "can't imagine it helping" Borsuk's case.
But the interviews were granted, and I hope the judge reads the resulting article: Massey reports that the thugs "express no regret for the crime, except for harming [B.J.] Gooch, the librarian." Gooch was stunned, blindfolded and "hogtied" while the thieves snatched rare books, including volumes of Audubon's Birds of America. A spokesperson for the university said she was interested to read the article, and that she is "concerned about inaccuracies and embellishments."
The scheme, which Massey describes as "hatched in a haze of marijuana smoke, with inspiration from popular heist flicks" was motivated by "a desire to escape the 'mundane, nickel-and-dime existence' of suburbia," according to one of the felons. Borsuk tells Falk if they'd pulled it off [a ludicrous idea, really], "they would have lived a 'crazy life thinking we were Ocean's 11 types.'" Lipka adds "In a few years we'll be released. We'll all be ... still young. We will be stronger, better, wiser for going through this together, the three of us. Before, in college, growing up, we were being funneled into this mundane, nickel-and-dime existence. Now we can't ever go back there. Even if we wanted to, they won't let us."
These guys are doing their level best to glamorize their story and make themselves into some kind of counter-cultural super-thieves. How long do you think it'll be before the movie deal's announced? Ridiculous. Here it is, simply put: these are four small-time suburbanite potheads who violently assaulted a librarian and stole major cultural treasures. That's nothing to be proud of. I do hope the judges who hear their appeal read both Massey's and Falk's articles, because it's clear to me that these twerps need every minute of jail time they can get.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Links & Reviews
- The week's must-read is Jill Lepore's excellent and provocative New Yorker review essay of Edward Larson's A Magnificent Catastrophe, a new book out on the election of 1800.
- From the NYTimes, an essay by David Oshinsky on gleanings from the "rejection files" at the Knopf archive at the University of Texas.
- Paul Collins points out his latest New Scientist article, which he calls "the most disturbing article I think I've ever written." "In perhaps the least-known American medical scandal of the 20th century, tens of thousands of woman in the 1920s through 1940s -- and the number might even reach into the 6 figures -- received X-ray radiation to their faces and arms" for the purpose of removing unwanted hair. "By 1970, US researchers were attributing over one-third of radiation-induced cancers in women to X-ray hair removal."
- The BBC covers a new bright-light technology that might allow scholars to 'read' unrolled scrolls or other works too fragile to open.
- BibliOdyssey sends roses, by Pierre-Joseph Redouté.
- Lew Jaffe's got a bookplate tale for us.
- Travis has more on the Transylvania thefts, pointing out that "masterminds" doesn't quite describe the thugs who carried out that heist. He also offers a brief update on the Jay Miller case; he suspects there's a plea deal in the works.
- Ed comments - aptly - on the latest effort to claim Shakespeare didn't write the plays.
- From The Scotsman, a celebration of the five-hundredth anniversary of printing in Scotland, and a column by Stuart Kelly on the recent flood at the National Library, "an accident that acts on the bibliophile part of my brain like salt on a slug."
- Michael at Book Patrol has some really neat images by Briony Morrow-Cribbs, and also offers a sneak peek at the design for Prague's National Library of the Czech Republic (which looks like something out of "SpongeBob Squarepants" to me).
- In The Guardian, Andrew Lycett draws on recently-available letters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to piece together a long-unclear "marital dilemma."
- Megan Marshall gives Linda Colley's The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh a quite-positive review in the NYTimes.
- From the NYTimes, an essay by David Oshinsky on gleanings from the "rejection files" at the Knopf archive at the University of Texas.
- Paul Collins points out his latest New Scientist article, which he calls "the most disturbing article I think I've ever written." "In perhaps the least-known American medical scandal of the 20th century, tens of thousands of woman in the 1920s through 1940s -- and the number might even reach into the 6 figures -- received X-ray radiation to their faces and arms" for the purpose of removing unwanted hair. "By 1970, US researchers were attributing over one-third of radiation-induced cancers in women to X-ray hair removal."
- The BBC covers a new bright-light technology that might allow scholars to 'read' unrolled scrolls or other works too fragile to open.
- BibliOdyssey sends roses, by Pierre-Joseph Redouté.
- Lew Jaffe's got a bookplate tale for us.
- Travis has more on the Transylvania thefts, pointing out that "masterminds" doesn't quite describe the thugs who carried out that heist. He also offers a brief update on the Jay Miller case; he suspects there's a plea deal in the works.
- Ed comments - aptly - on the latest effort to claim Shakespeare didn't write the plays.
- From The Scotsman, a celebration of the five-hundredth anniversary of printing in Scotland, and a column by Stuart Kelly on the recent flood at the National Library, "an accident that acts on the bibliophile part of my brain like salt on a slug."
- Michael at Book Patrol has some really neat images by Briony Morrow-Cribbs, and also offers a sneak peek at the design for Prague's National Library of the Czech Republic (which looks like something out of "SpongeBob Squarepants" to me).
- In The Guardian, Andrew Lycett draws on recently-available letters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to piece together a long-unclear "marital dilemma."
- Megan Marshall gives Linda Colley's The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh a quite-positive review in the NYTimes.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
Links & Reviews
- First, some updates: Scott Brown continues to stay on top of the evolving Davy Crockett letter story, including some important orthographical comparisons. He also heard from one autograph dealer who said that the $490,000 price tag was "a bargain" if genuine (though I'm still not sure why, given prior auction prices), but that "The uniformity of the writing certainly should cause a lot of concern. Davy Crockett did not write on straight lines like that." Finally, Scott's dredged up some earlier examples in which the dealer who sold this letter to Texas has been involved with the sale of non-genuine documents.
- Travis has been chasing down a very strange episode involving book thief Sherman Suchow [aka Charles Merrill Mount]'s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Here's his lead-up post, followed by a summary of the Mount's submission.
- Speaking of thefts, I happened to flick on the t.v. yesterday afternoon and stumbled on an episode of Fox' "Masterminds" about the 2004 thefts from the special collections department at Transylvania University. Naturally it's a bit overdone (it is Fox, after all), but on the substance they did fairly well.
- Hanover College (IN) has mounted a web version of their ongoing Captain Cook exhibit.
- At Book Patrol, Michael highlights some Edward Gorey news, including an exhibit of Gorey's Dracula work at the Cartoon Museum and a brief Harvard Magazine profile from earlier this year [pdf].
- Joyce catches some great biblio-news bits that missed my radar screen on the first pass; don't miss any of these.
- Before he jumped into the Davy Crockett fray, Scott posted an excellent volley in the Google Books debate, dismissing the argument that Google Books is not a good tool in this way: "... any 'ordinary' reader who blindly assumes that a free scan of an out-of-copyright edition of a complicated eighteenth-century book is a good source for reading gets what they pay for. This is the problem with most information on the Internet. You have to use it with care because you don't know by whom or for what purpose it was put online. ... In short, it doesn't matter if you are reading a book online using Google Books, checking one out from the most prestigious library in the world, or buying a brand-new copy from your local bookstore, the advice is the same caveat lector." I'll have more on Google Books soon since I've had some interesting interactions with it recently.
- Richard Davies lists the biggest ABE sales for August, in which a special edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (one inscribed at Rowling's midnight reading) sold for $5,500. The highest-seller for the month was a complete copy of Athanasius Kircher's Itinerarium Exstaticum Quo Mundi Opificium, which fetched $11,728.
- Rare Book Review notes the recent sale at auction of a copy of Francis Frith's Egypt, Sinai and Jerusalem: A Series of Twenty Photographic Views (1860). The hammer came down at £63,250, more than three times the presale estimate - quite a haul for a book discovered during an attic clear-out earlier this year.
- In today's NYTimes, John Wilson reviews Of a Feather, Scott Weidensaul's new history of American birding. I'm looking forward to this one; my copy is staring at me from the "to read soon" shelf as I type.
- And finally, as work on the Great Jefferson Library Project continues (quickly!), an article from The New Yorker on another of Jefferson's passions - wine.
- Travis has been chasing down a very strange episode involving book thief Sherman Suchow [aka Charles Merrill Mount]'s testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Here's his lead-up post, followed by a summary of the Mount's submission.
- Speaking of thefts, I happened to flick on the t.v. yesterday afternoon and stumbled on an episode of Fox' "Masterminds" about the 2004 thefts from the special collections department at Transylvania University. Naturally it's a bit overdone (it is Fox, after all), but on the substance they did fairly well.
- Hanover College (IN) has mounted a web version of their ongoing Captain Cook exhibit.
- At Book Patrol, Michael highlights some Edward Gorey news, including an exhibit of Gorey's Dracula work at the Cartoon Museum and a brief Harvard Magazine profile from earlier this year [pdf].
- Joyce catches some great biblio-news bits that missed my radar screen on the first pass; don't miss any of these.
- Before he jumped into the Davy Crockett fray, Scott posted an excellent volley in the Google Books debate, dismissing the argument that Google Books is not a good tool in this way: "... any 'ordinary' reader who blindly assumes that a free scan of an out-of-copyright edition of a complicated eighteenth-century book is a good source for reading gets what they pay for. This is the problem with most information on the Internet. You have to use it with care because you don't know by whom or for what purpose it was put online. ... In short, it doesn't matter if you are reading a book online using Google Books, checking one out from the most prestigious library in the world, or buying a brand-new copy from your local bookstore, the advice is the same caveat lector." I'll have more on Google Books soon since I've had some interesting interactions with it recently.
- Richard Davies lists the biggest ABE sales for August, in which a special edition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (one inscribed at Rowling's midnight reading) sold for $5,500. The highest-seller for the month was a complete copy of Athanasius Kircher's Itinerarium Exstaticum Quo Mundi Opificium, which fetched $11,728.
- Rare Book Review notes the recent sale at auction of a copy of Francis Frith's Egypt, Sinai and Jerusalem: A Series of Twenty Photographic Views (1860). The hammer came down at £63,250, more than three times the presale estimate - quite a haul for a book discovered during an attic clear-out earlier this year.
- In today's NYTimes, John Wilson reviews Of a Feather, Scott Weidensaul's new history of American birding. I'm looking forward to this one; my copy is staring at me from the "to read soon" shelf as I type.
- And finally, as work on the Great Jefferson Library Project continues (quickly!), an article from The New Yorker on another of Jefferson's passions - wine.
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