The Book Bandit

I am not a thief, but will admit that there have been a few occasions when I have been extremely tempted to quietly remove a book from someone’s book shelves – a rare Jane Austen is probably not terribly safe when I’m around (Chris Browne – take note!)

There are some people who have been less honest than me. The worst book thief in history was Stephen Blumberg who, between the years 1970 to 1990, stole a staggering 23,600 rare books from libraries across America and is listed in The Guinness Book of Records for his exploits. Blumberg’s total haul weighed 19 tonnes. A former accomplice dobbed him in and in 1991 he was convicted on four counts. The value of his collected thefts in 1990 was US $5.3 million.

He was not stealing just to treasure the beautiful volumes. Blumberg suffered from a schizoid personality disorder and, convinced that modern society had lost its ability to appreciate beautiful and rare things, he felt he had a duty to take books into his own care. He seems to have felt a particular animosity towards librarians who, in his view, were disrespectful of the books they handled.

He worked in architectural salvage, with a special interest in stained glass, and this nomadic lifestyle enabled him to visit libraries across the country. He would visit a library and have a good look around, would attempt to get hold of staff passes or keys, then visited again at night. His slim build often allowed him to squeeze into shafts or over security cages.

Finally, a campus police officer grew suspicious, but it was only when a former accomplice sold his information about the thefts to the FBI, that Blumberg could be arrested. He was soon nicknamed the Book Bandit. He was fined and sentenced to 71 months in prison (he came out in 1995). In 1997 he was arrested for stealing antiques and again imprisoned.

His haul included a first edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the 16th century Bishop’s Bible and the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle but, as far as I know, there were no Jane Austen’s. Foolish man – what a wasted opportunity. If you are going to spend time in prison for pinching books, you can at least make sure you have stolen the very best!