Guide to the Bird and small mammal prints theft collection,
1859-2004
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Title |
Bird and small mammal prints theft
collection |
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Dates: |
1859-2004 |
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Abstract: |
This collection consists of circa 700
color prints stolen from the journals Ibis (the
journal of the British Ornithologists’ Union) and Proceedings
of the Zoological Society of London, owned by the Fondren Library. The
prints date from 1859-1915 and feature birds, bird eggs, and other animals. Theft
correspondence and research dates from 1980-2004 and represents the Fondren
Library’s efforts to cooperate with and assist in the Blumberg investigation. |
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ID |
MS 544 |
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Extent |
1 lin. ft. (2 boxes) |
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Language |
Materials are in English. |
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Repository: |
Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, TX
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Stephen Carrie Blumberg was an accomplished book thief who to stole18,900 books from
327 libraries and museums in 45 states and Canada before being caught in 1991. Over
20 years he amassed his collection of rare books in his Iowa home in an attempt to
create his own rare book collection, never intending to sell them. Blumberg stole
numerous color plates from journals in Rice’s Fondren Library in the 1980s. When the
FBI confiscated his collection, and attempted to return the books to the libraries
from which they were stolen, the task was complicated by the fact that Blumberg had
removed each library’s ownership marks. It is believed that this group of prints
represents only what was stolen from Fondren Library, but complete accuracy on this
point is not possible. It was also determined that the original journals from which
these plates were cut were in such bad condition that returning the plates to them
would not be possible. There fore they have been maintained in their original order
since their investigation and return.
Blumberg’s stolen book collection was valued at $5.3 million. He served nearly 6
years in prison for the thefts.
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This collection consists of circa 700 color prints stolen from the journals Ibis (the journal of the British Ornithologists’ Union)
and Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London,
owned by the Fondren Library. The prints date from 1859-1915 and feature birds, bird
eggs, bird nests and other animals. The prints were recovered after Blumberg’s 1991
arrest and returned to Fondren Library. The bags in which they are stored are the
bags which Blumberg used for them. The folder names for the bags reflect his
labeling on the bags. Theft correspondence and research dates from 1980-2004 and
represents the Fondren Library’s efforts to cooperate with and assist in the
Blumberg investigation.
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Access Restriction
This material is open for research.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish materials from this item must be obtained from the Woodson
Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.
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Subjects (Organizations) |
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Rice University – history. |
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Subjects |
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Book thefts |
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Subjects (Persons) |
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Blumberg, Stephen Carrie |
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Formats |
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Correspondence |
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Plates (illustrations) |
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Bird and small mammal prints theft collection, 1859-2004, MS 544 Woodson Research
Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.
The theft correspondence and research in this collection was the work product of the
Fondren Library in collaboration with the FBI and other libraries which were
involved, over the period of time 1981-2004.
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Series I: Prints, 1859-1915 |
| box |
folder |
| 1 |
1 |
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Bag labeled PZS / 177 |
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Color prints of birds, animals, fish, seashells, butterflies. These
plates were cut and stolen from Proceedings of
the Zoological Society of London publication in Fondren
Library and elsewhere. Approximately 200 plates dated from 1864-1904.
Also contains property tag from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
police dated July 10, 1980. |
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2 |
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Bag labeled 255 / Ibis |
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Color prints of birds with original identification Ibis in top right corner. They are believed to have been
cut from the journal Ibis, the journal of
the British Ornithologists’ Union. Approximately 267 plates dated from
1859-1915. |
| box |
folder |
| 2 |
1 |
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Bag labeled 329/PZ. |
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Color prints found in this bag are in separate Mylar enclosures. Prints
are of birds and bird eggs from the journal Ibis, the journal of the British Ornithologists’ Union. Plates
are sorted by year in which the appeared in the journal. Approximately
217 plates dated from 1862-1913. |
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Series II: Theft correspondence and research, 1980-2004 |
| box |
folder |
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2 |
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Composite of information on stolen plates |
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Two page sheet detailing the bibliographic description of the journal
Ibis and police reports detailing
contents of plastic bags containing stolen plates. |
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2 |
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Hartfield catalogue of rare books |
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Catalogue from Hartfield’s Fine and Rare Books store dated February 11,
1985. Contains information of the value of some of the stolen plates
(listing # L-74). |
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2 |
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Printouts of Fondren Library’s journal holdings |
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Printout details the location and volumes of journals held by Fondren
from which plates were stolen. |
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2 |
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Photocopies of book plate listings |
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Photocopies of illustration listings contained in Alfred Guernsey’s book
“Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War” dated 1868. |
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Bibliographic listings |
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Bibliographic listings of Fondren’s holdings that are missing (with
sample plates), dated May 12, 1981. |
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2 |
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Collection of catalog listings |
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A collection of handwritten and typed notes containing bibliographic
listings of journals and books originally thought to hold the stolen
plates. Annotations by librarians concerning the status of the plates
are also present. |
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2 |
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Photocopies of Ibis plate
listings |
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A collection photocopies from Ibis’s
plate listings in the order in which they appear in their original
publications. |
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3 |
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The Shinn Lists (1982) |
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One hundred forty-four page booklet edited by William Moffett of Oberlin
College listing the books stolen by another book thief, James Shinn.
This booklet was created to facilitate communication between
universities that had been victims of Shinn when the recovered books
ended up at the wrong libraries. |
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4 |
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Printout of Blumberg biography |
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Printout from the Web of the November 1991 edition of the Abbey
Newsletter detailing Stephen Blumberg’s life and history of his thefts.
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