Rare book experts join forces to stop tome raiders

British Library conference highlights rise in thefts from heritage libraries around the world, with tens of thousands of manuscripts missing

The Wytfliet atlas of 1597, which contains some of the earliest maps of the New World, was stolen by a librarian at the Royal Library of Sweden and made its way to Sotheby’s in London. Photograph: Repro: Kungliga biblioteket

Dalya Alberge - The Guardian

Thefts of rare books, maps and manuscripts from national libraries have sparked such alarm that international experts are joining forces to stop any further vandalism to the world’s cultural heritage.
Lawyers and librarians, booksellers and auctioneers will descend on the British Library next month for a major conference whose title – The Written Heritage of Mankind in Peril – conveys the seriousness of the problem.
The first conference of its kind follows a series of devastating thefts from libraries. The losses include volumes created hundreds of years ago, some mutilated by having single sheets brutally removed with scalpels.
Tens of thousands of historic books and manuscripts are thought to be missing, according to a leading art lawyer, Chris Marinello, head of London-based company Art Recovery International.
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