[MSN] An Affront To Civilization. E. Forbes Smiley III will get no sympathy here. The map dealer from Martha's Vineyard is expected to admit soon in U.S. District Court in New Haven that he sliced rare maps out of priceless books from Yale University's Beinecke

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An Affront To Civilization 

June 20 2006

E. Forbes Smiley III will get no sympathy here. The map dealer from Martha's
Vineyard is expected to admit soon in U.S. District Court in New Haven that
he sliced rare maps out of priceless books from Yale University's Beinecke
Rare Book and Manuscript Library and other prominent institutions across the
Northeast. 

To cultural guardians, this is no less serious an affront than desecration
of a church. 

Other repositories of world history, including the British Library in
London, the Newberry Library in Chicago and the Boston Public Library, are
missing maps that Mr. Smiley has handled in the name of scholarly research.

A year ago at Yale, he was caught on video slicing "Speculum Orbis
Terrarum," a map from Gerard de Jode's 1578 world atlas, worth an estimated
$150,000. What audacity. 

When it comes to crimes against property, this is about as low as one can
go. Monetary value is beside the point. It's one thing to steal mere objects
out of greed, but quite another to pilfer irreplaceable treasures, hugely
important to the study of history, that belong not to one victim, but to
civilization. 

Brava to the Beinecke librarian who exposed this sordid scheme. She noticed
the smoking gun, an X-Acto knife blade, on the floor of the library. She
kept her cool, alerted the staff that a thief might be lurking and, with
some quick research, confirmed suspicions of Mr. Smiley. 

A Yale police detective trailed the thief out of the building and confronted
him with the knife blade. Stolen maps were found in his briefcase. He also
pulled a John Smith map of New England from his pocket, according to the
arrest warrant. 

The plea agreement follows a yearlong FBI investigation. The good work of
all involved merits a sigh of relief from all who value knowledge. 

The details of Mr. Smiley's punishment won't be known until his court date
June 22. Pardon the pun, but the judge should throw the book at him. 
Copyright 2006, Hartford Courant