To hear the name of E. Forbes Smiley III of Martha's Vineyard you might immediately assume he is a respectable member of elite society. Imagine him wearing a seersucker suit and vacationing in the Hamptons. Smiley looks the part, too, tall, thin, wire-framed glasses, and tweedy sports coats.
Map Theft Caught By Librarian
But it turns out, Smiley is a serial map thief who has confessed to having stolen over 100 maps worth over $3 million dollars. The map thief was caught by an astute librarian at Yale University, who noticed an X-Acto knife on the floor next to Smiley during a visit to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 2005. Smiley used the blade to carefully slice the maps out of very old and rare books and then sold them to map collectors.
Respected Map Dealer
Smiley was also a well known map dealer, which gave him entree as a scholar into rare book & map collections all over the United States. And apparently Smiley had been using his cache for years to get into museum and library collections to hand pick the maps he would steal. Ironically, Smiley was responsible for building two large, private collections of maps that were eventually donated to public institutions: The Lawrence H. Slaughter Collection in the New York Public Library, and the Norman B. Leventhal Collection at the Boston Public Library.
Smiley Sentenced and Released
While Smiley cooperated in the recovery of most of these maps some of them are lost forever. It is also rumored that some museums are too embarrassed to come forward to report missing maps that may or may not be insured. Smiley was sentenced to serve three and a half years in 2006 for stealing 97 rare maps worth $3 million (US). Smiley was also ordered to pay $2.3 million (US) in restitution. Smiley was released from prison in January 2010.
Most museums or rare book collections are guarded at all times to prevent theft. But these places, Harvard, Yale, The New York Public Library, and The Boston Public Library, must have been comfortable with Smiley and were used to his presence. These institutions and people trusted him in part because of his name, appearance, and provenance. I guess it goes to show you, you can't judge a book by its cover.
There is a thorough and extensive collection of article and documents connected to the E. Forbes Smiley III map theft here.
Photo credit: Boston.com
Mary Rayme - Mary Rayme is a graphic designer and arts educator with a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore.
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