The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1901-12-06
NOTED BOOK THIEVES.
FIGURES WHO STOLE
UNIQUE VOLUMES.

Cardinal, a AfsHop ANA u Priest hn-
fected With the Mania.
Book stealing Is an art upop which
much ingenuity has been expended.
One never knows in what form 1t viii
next break out It is an incident by no
means uncommon in Booksellers row
for bibliopoIe TO be offered book
which had been stolen from his next
door neighbor. There is something
more than tradition to the effect that
bookseller has on occasion purchased
a book taken d minute or two previous
~ from the shelves outside his shop!
A fayorite mode of stealing books
from public libraries is to procure a
book, sit down to read it and then
wrap it up in an overcoat and after
this to take up a paper or magazine.
The rest is easily guessed. The public
libraries suffer in all sorts of ways, for
here the accumulated wisdom of the
thief finds plenty of scope, Some of
the tribe have mania for old directo-
ries. Librarians complain FREQUENTLY
Of the clerical thief Of sermons and
theological literature
Novels and "books of the bibliophile"
Gas the French call them one can IN
derstand being stolen. but sermons
and theology Women, more or less
generally more - respectfully dressed.
are often objects Of suspicion with Ii
brarians for the 'sreceptivity" of cloaks
is infinite, and the feelings" Of the
culprit must also be considered. AS a
general rule, the thief is well dressed
and educated and frequently well to
do
Whatever may be the causes which
prompt person to steal books, there
is always this consolation - he is III
good company. This balm may not be
a very healing one to the soul of the
person whose books are stolen, but it
must be consolatory to the thief when
|repenting in prison to know that some
great and good men have been touched
with the same species of insanity.
Hearne, in his johannes Glaston-
ensis," more than hints that Sir Thorn
as Bodley had weakness in this di-
rection. IF you hold" he warns Sir
Henry Saville, "any book so deare as
that you would bee loath to have him
out of your sight, set him aside etc.
Moore. bishop of Ely, has likewise
come under such stigma. The anec-
dote runs to this effect. A gentleman
calling on friend who had a very
choice library found him unusually
busy in putting his best books out Of
sight. Upon asking his view in this he
was answered, Don't you know the
bishop of - dimes with me today?"
The very king of book stealers was
Libri, who, as inspector general of
French libraries under Louis Philippe,
had special facilities for helping him.
self and whose known thefts have been
valued at f20,000. The most interesting
illustration of this mans depredations
was exposed in 1868. when Lord Ash
burnham issued translation of the
Pentateuch from Latin manuscript
which had been purchased by the late
Lord Ashburnham from Libri, who had
sold it under the condition that 1t was
not to be published for twenty years.
II lttQ DtCn SlOtGAI III 1917 HUN tuC
Lyons library, and the last clause of
the agreement, therefore. could be eaS
lily understood. Libri evidently was not
one Of those whom Jules Janinf de-
scribes as people who don't think it
thieving to steal book unless you sell
it afterward."
Innocent X, when still Mgr. Pam
philio. stole a book from Du NIoustier,
who was himself a book thief and
ought to have been en- courant with the
devices and designs of his own weak
nesses. 1t is refreshing to come across
an example when the tables are so
completely turned, and if anything
would induce an honest man to turn
book thief it should be the exhilarat-
ing fun of stealing from another thief.
1t is reported. however. that Du Nous
tier recovered the book and thrust the
cardinal out of the house.
Catherine de- Medici went in for steal
ing books by wholesale and barefaced.
She seized the fine library of Marshal
Strozzi and promised to pay his son for
it in installments, but never farthing
did he get
OF another and equally extreme type
was the Spanish priest Don Vincento,
who sold books and then murdered the
purchasers to regain possession of his
coveted treasures Like most of the
biblioklept tribe he came to grief at
last. The original edition (14S2) of the
"Furs ordinations fetes per los glori-
osos Reys de Arago ais regnicois del
Regne de Valencia" was offered for
sale by auction and after a long and
obstinate competition was knocked
Gown to bookseller named Paxtot.
& A week after Paxtots shop was
burned down. and he was suffocated
at the same time. Suspicion was di-
rected toward Don vincento, whose
residence was searched, and there at
length was discovered the incunabule
above named. The priest was arrest
ed and at the hearing he confessed,
not from contrition or the fear of tor
ments in the next world, but because
it appeared that the volume was not
unique, as had been supposed. He sob
bed violently when he was condemned
to be strangled, and the only defense
he vouchsafed was, "Ah, your worship,
my copy YVES not uniquey'-St. James
Gazette.
Tall Beaver Story.
A story comes from e Yellowstone
National park to the IL act that keep
er caught and famed !, voung beaver