The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1902-01-28
NOTED BOOK THIEVES
HISTORICAL FIGURES WIG STOLE
UNIQUE VOLUMES.

W. 0sbNfG 6t0ocE0 WIZ
UNIQUE VOLUMES.
Inspector General Lfbrf Was the
King Of the BibIioIslept fribe-A
Cardinal, bishop and 81 Prsest Ia
) fected with the Mania.
Book stealing is an art upon which
much ingenuity has been expended.
One never knows in what fern 1t will
next break out. 1t is an incident by no
means uncommon In booksellers row
| for bibliopole to be offered book
which had been stolen from his next
| door heishbor. There is something
more than tradition to the effect that
bookseller has on occasion purchased
book taken a minute or two previous
| ly from the shelves outside his shop.
| A favorite m-de of stealing books
| from public libraries Is to procure q
book. sit down to read It and then
wrap It up in. AN overcoat- and after
this to take. up a paper or magagine.
The rest is easily guessed. The public
libraries sulfer In all sorts Of ways. for
here the accumulated wisdom OF the
| thief finds plenty. of sc pc. Some Of
the tribe hhyf a: mania for old dirccto-
ries- Librarians complain frequently
Of the clerical thief of sermons and
theological literature. !.
Novels and: looks Of 4se bibliophile''
(as the French call thcnp one can, nm
derstand -heing stolen. but sermons
and theolnEy.: Women. more or less
generally mores- respectfully. dressed.
Il nffon a11i,p<s <afc ton, xrxi<1 4
brarians. for the ..receptiyity" Of cloaks
is Infinite. and the ''feelings"- OF the
culprit must also be considered. Az 4
general rule: the fiiltf is well dfesaed
and educated and frequently well to
do.
Whatever may be the causes which
prompt a. person to steaI-books. there
Is. always this consolation lie h In
good company. This balm may not be
a very healing one to the souF-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 Clastonl-
ensis. /" more than hints that Sir Thom-
as Bodley had a weakness In this d.
rection IF you hold.r he warns Sir
Henry Saville. ANY book s6. aeare ~
that you would bee loafh to mxe him
out Of your sight, set him asideE &c.
Moore, bishop Of Ely. has likewise
come under such a stigma. The anee-
dote runs to this effect: A gentleman
calling on friend who had q very
choice library found him unusually
busy in putting his best books ont OF
Isight. 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 100000. The.mos Interesting
Illustration of this mans depredations
was exposed in 1868. when. Lord Ash
burnham ISSUED a translation OF the
Pentatetieh from a Latin manuscript
which had been purchased by the late
Lord .Ashburnham from I.ibri. who had
sold it under the condition that it was
not to he published for twenty. years.
It had been stolen fn.:f347- frem the
Lyons library, and the last. ciause Of
the agreement. therefere. could: be cas-
lily understood. -Libri evidently was not
one of those whom Jules Janih de-
scribes as people who. don't think It
thieving to steal a hook unless you sell
1t afterward."
Innoceht H., when still Mgr Pam
philio, stole book from Du Moustier,
who was himself a book thief and
ought to have been en- courant with the
devices and designs Of his ewn weak
nesses. 1t Is refreshing to come across
an example when the tables are SO
completely turned, and: il 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
1t in installinents. but never farthing
did he get. g.
was the Spanish priest Don Vincento.
who sold books and then murdered the
purchasers to regain possession OF his
coveted treasures. Like NEST Of the
biblioklept tribe. he came to grief at
last. The original edition Q482l 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 d long and
obstinate competition was knocked
down to a bookseller named Paxtot.
| A week after Paxtot's shop was
burned down. and he was suffocated
at the same time. Suspicion was d.
rected toward Don Vimeento. whose
residence was searched. and. there at
length was discovered the incunabule
above named. The priest was arrest
ed: and at the hearing be 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. All. your worship.
my copy was not uniqde?'zst. James
Gazette.
Tall Beaver story.
A story comes from the Yellowstone
. National park to the effect that q. keep.
IN ,,nbf