: In a case that has attracted worldwide attention and raised the
eyebrows of librarians everywhere, Edward Forbes Smiley III, 49,
pleaded not guilty on August 8 in New Haven Superior Court to
larceny charges lodged against him. Smiley was arrested June 8
for allegedly stealing several hundred thousand dollars worth of
antique maps from Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and
Manuscript Library.
The case has curators and library officials around the country
scouring their collections of Sixteenth through Nineteenth
Century books and atlases in search of maps that have been cut
from the volumes. They are keeping an especially keen eye out for
several unclaimed maps that were in Smiley's possession when
arrested.
Smiley is a former Manhattan map dealer who currently lists a
Martha's Vineyard address, and who has a website that lists him
as having operated offices for the past 25 years at "16 East 79th
Street, New York, galleries at 175 East 57th Street, New York,
and a private business on Martha's Vineyard."
Libraries that have reportedly confirmed losses include the
Boston Public Library, as well as libraries reportedly in
Chicago, New York City and even The British Library in London.
Ruth Kowal, chief operating officer of Boston Public Library,
confirmed that a police investigation involving stolen maps from
the library's archives is currently underway. Kowal declined to
comment further on the map thefts.
Smiley's initial arrest for larceny in the first degree came when
a staff member at the Beinecke facility found an "Exacto knife
blade" on the floor of the reading room. Suspecting that the
person that had dropped it might still be in the library, a
search revealed a man "looking at books containing rare maps" who
was later identified as Smiley, according to the arrest warrant.
After further checking with the Sterling Memorial Library, also
on the campus of Yale, it was confirmed that Smiley was a suspect
in a missing document case there, yet charges were never pressed
due to a lack of evidence.
Yale police conducted video surveillance, and when Smiley left
the library, he was followed and arrested at the Yale Center for
the British Arts. A search of Smiley's personal property revealed
seven rare maps worth more than $700,000. They were reportedly
discovered in Smiley's briefcase, three of which were identified
by library personnel as possibly having been stolen from the
library.
Among the recovered maps was a 1614 map that had been removed
from the book Advertisements for the Unexperienced Planters of
New England or Anywhere by Captain John Smith, founder of
Jamestown, valued at $50,000. Smiley reportedly pulled this map
from the inside pocket of his blazer when questioned by
authorities.
Among the other maps recovered was a "Septentrio vniuersalis
descripto" authored by Richard Hakluyt, 1552-1616, that had a
comparable value of $500,000 placed on it, according to the
affidavit used to obtain the arrest warrant. Smiley had also
signed out the book North West Passage by Foxe Luke, 1586-1635,
which was found to be missing the map "Part of America part of
China." A map of the same title was one of the maps discovered in
Smiley's briefcase.
Smiley was formally charged in late June with two additional
larceny charges. The FBI became involved in the investigation
amidst concerns that Smiley may have targeted other libraries
throughout the region.
"It is truly a shame to see this occur, but not surprising,"
stated Dana Linett, president of Early American History Auctions,
Inc, a Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., company that deals in historical
documents, maps, books and currency. "There simply needs to be
less trust and more verification. There is probably much more
missing, or replaced with fakes, within these libraries and
institutions than they know about."
Linett commented that he expects to see people continue to have
access to these materials, "but it should be stricter than it
currently is. Libraries and institutions need to increase their
surveillance and security of these highly valuable items. They
aren't really knowledgeable about their value, because that is
not their forte; they are just knowledgeable about the rarity,"
he said. "Somehow they must be much more surveillant than they
currently are, while still granting access."
Smiley's website states that during his 25 years in business that
he has "built several of the largest collections of American
cartographic materials in this country, including the Norman
Leventhal collection of New England maps and the Lawrence H.
Slaughter collection of English maps and atlases - now at the New
York Public Library."
Smiley is free after posting bail on July 8, which was set at
$175,000. After pleading not guilty in Superior Court, the case
was continued until October 3.
