1,400 stolen rare books returned to Lambeth Palace Library in London
The Daily Mail
Books Blog
BY Taylor Malmsheimer
April 30 2013
A collection of about 1,400 rare books, including an early edition of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV, Part 2” and an illustrated account of the first expeditions to America, has been returned to Lambeth Palace in London after it was stolen almost 40 years ago.
As long ago as 1975, the palace’s librarian realized that there were gaps on the library’s shelves and estimated that around 60 volumes were missing. However, it was difficult to determine the exact number of missing books, since the collection was unorganized following a bomb hit during World War II.
“The theft was discovered in the early 1970s and the police were informed, the book trade were informed, but the police didn’t catch the thief and the trail ran cold,” director of libraries for the Church of England Declan Kelly told the Guardian.
Yet in February 2011, a sealed letter arrived at the palace’s library, leaving staff stunned. The letter, written by a former Lambeth Palace Library employee before his death, revealed the whereabouts of many of the library’s precious books.
The library staff traveled to the man’s house in London, where they found many more books than just the 60 to 90 volumes they knew were missing.
"We were staggered," Kelly told the BBC. "A couple of my colleagues climbed into the attic. It was piled high to the rafters with boxes full of books. I had a list of 60 to 90 missing books, but more and more boxes kept coming down."
The thief had taken around 1,400 books, including engraved, illustrated volumes written in the early 1600s from Theodor de Bry’s “America,” a book written in the 1500s about Martin Frobisher’s search for the Northwest Passage and a book from the late 16th century about French surgery, of which there only six or seven remaining in the world. Many of the books came from the collections of three 17th century archbishops, John Whitgift, Richard Bancroft and George Abbot, that dated back to the library’s original collection in 1610.
Robert Harding, the director of a London rare book dealer called Maggs Bros, told the BBC that scale of the theft was “extraordinary.”
"It's one of the biggest such thefts in recent decades," Harding said.
Kelly said that the thief had damaged many of the books while trying to remove proof of ownership by cutting out pages or using chemicals to eradicate ink. The BBC reports that about 10% of the books have now been repaired and 40% have been entered into the library’s online catalogue.
Kelly told the Guardian he is confused about what the thief was thinking.
"If you go to the trouble of trying to remove marks of ownership, it does suggest you are trying to sell them,” Kelly said. “But on the other hand, the fact they had all been put in the loft suggests differently. You do read about fanatics who just want to have art and own it for themselves — but it's very strange."
The BBC reports that some of the stolen books are still missing. The thief reportedly removed index cards for each book he stole, which were found at his home. However, not all of the corresponding books were recovered, leading to speculation that some may have been sold.
Harding told the BBC that if undamaged, the copy of “America” could be worth about $232,320. He also said that the Shakespeare volume might be worth $77,440.
However, Harding also said that damage affects the worth of these books.
“A book without the arms may have lost 90% of its value,” Harding said. “It’s cultural vandalism.”
Regardless of the collection’s worth, the library is thrilled to have the volumes back in their possession.
“It’s great to have this stuff back and scholars and others can now access them to see what was available to people at that time to inform themselves,” Kelly told the BBC.