- John Schulman and Gregory Priore were sentenced yesterday for the thefts from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Library. Schulman received four years of home confinement and twelve years' probation, and was ordered to pay $55,000 in restitution to purchasers of stolen books. Priore was sentenced to three years of home confinement and twelve years' probation. The judge stated that the sentences would have been "significantly more impactful" were it not for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The judge further ordered that neither Schulman nor Priore may profit in any way from books, films, &c. related to the case. Paula Reed Ward and Marylynne Pitz reported for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette earlier in the week that the day before Schulman entered his guilty plea in January, he sent an email to other booksellers declaring his innocence. This letter came up as the sentencing hearing opened on Thursday, with the judge questioning Schulman and his lawyers "Why should I accept a plea from somebody who says he's innocent?" The judge then conducted the guilty plea colloquy again before moving to sentencing. Both Schulman and Priore apologized, though Mary Frances Cooper, head of the Carnegie Library, told the court "We do not want an apology. Any apology from these thieves would be meaningless. They are only sorry we discovered what they did." See also the ABAA statement.
- Over at Medieval Manuscripts Provenance, "Whitehead-Holford-Malcolm" and "The Holford Album."
- From Heather Wolfe for The Collation, "Pandemic Paleography."
- Spencer Stuart is highlighted in the "Bright Young Things" Fine Books blog series.
- A tiny replica of John Fleming's bookselling gallery will be on the auction block this week.
- New from Library Juice Press, Archives and Special Collections as Sites of Contestation, edited by Mary Kandiuk.
- Another week, another Voynich "solution." Nope, says Lisa Fagin Davis in a Twitter-thread.
Upcoming Auctions
- Fine Books and Manuscripts, including Americana at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on 23 June.
- Francis Hopkinson Family Americana Collection at William H. Bunch Auctions on 23 June.
- Printed Books, Maps & Documents, Modern Literature, First Editions, Children's & Illustrated Books at Dominic Winter Auctioneers on 24–25 June.
- Rare Books, Manuscripts & Relics including Forbes & Kerouac at University Archives on 24 June.
- "Tendrement vôtre" – Lettres et Manuscrits Autographes d'auteurs Français at Christie's ends on 25 June.
- Americana – Travel & Exploration – World History – Cartography at PBA Galleries on 25 June.
