Alright! Who's the culprit this time?

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

http://tinyurl.com/26h36c

I wonder if the complete box hadn't surfaced earlier this year if this auction would have been looked at skeptically.

Anyone want to fess up to buying these?

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Posted By: Zinn

Not me.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

Nothing gets past Leon...I'm betting it was him.

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Posted By: Bob

Dan- I am amazed you guys find these in the strangest categories. I bet someone got a steal.

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Posted By: dstudeba

Damn, nice one! I didn't even see it. Hope it was Scott.

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Posted By: leon

not me...I promise....

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

For the record I emailed the guy when the auction was still running and he claims to have had a complete box that he donated to the Hall of Fame...here is his response to me when I asked him what the piece of paper off to the side was.

Dan,
It is a newspaper clipping from about 1933 of the all-stars of that day/ worth nothing. I've tried better picture with no luck. I have the complete set of T555 set in a frame-- these three would look good mated and framed in protective glass..The other piece of cardboard is part of the originall box they came in. I donated one box to HOF in Cooperstown. They had the cards, but not the box. I live near there.
skip

So apparently this guy has a complete set - although he calls them T555 - and he donated a complete box to the Hall of Fame???

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Posted By: Frank Wakefield

And this reminds me of why we should never donate stuff to the National Baseball Museum (the Hall of Fame).

Most of what the Hall has is boxed and stored. Visitors never get to see it. Very little of what they have is on public display. And a small portion of what they have stored can be viewed if you know who to ask, ask in advance, schedule a time, and have a good reason for viewing it.

If you have great stuff, show it to folks. Or loan it to a "lesser" museum that will display it. The Hall is a black hole...

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Posted By: J Levine

About six years ago, I was in Cooperstown for the HOF weekend. Walking around the museum I noticed they had a watch on display saying it was Kid Nichols (still might be there). Very nice watch fob but inscribed on the front was Charlie Bennet's name. I asked a curator about it and he said he had no clue but to hold on. Two minutes later there was a guy there asking me questions. I said Bennett played with Nichols but the watch clearly said Bennett. I flashed my MLB Alumni Association card and I then was escorted to their record room where we looked up the watch. It was indeed from Nichols "estate." Apparently Nichols, like many ballplayers from that era, was destitute later in life. Bennett gave him the watch to sell and make some money but Nichols died before he sold it. AFter that I was treated to a walk in the basement. In the room where the other Nichols effects were was his death certificate, a pair of shoes that he wore, a hat, and some correspondence between Bennett and Nichols. It was amazing to walk past crates of stuff that had labels stating they had been packed away in the 1950s and looked like they had not been opened since.

Joshua

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Posted By: barrysloate

Josh- you can be sure that in the Hall of Fame basement, with boxes of material that probably nobody even knows about, a number of people with sticky fingers have helped themselves to a few samples. Sad but likely true.

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Posted By: J Levine

Barry,
Possibly, but when I was escorted down there, I was led by a museum official and a guard. I think after the scandal some time ago with some balls and w.s. progams being taken, things are a lot tighter. Not to say that it does not happen and not to say that a disgruntled employee might have access but I think things were better.

Joshua

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Posted By: Jimmy Leiderman

Barry, as you probably know, lots of stuff from the Spalding Collection at the NYPL was stolen over the years and the sad part is that most of it are now part of some well known guys collections.

Some items have even been auctioned by major auction houses without problem.

It is like stealing the Mona Lisa and displaying it at your house.

Will never understand where's the joy in that.

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Posted By: leon

Do you have any other information about those things that were stolen from the library and who the thief might have been? Enquiring minds want to know...

edited to add...I wonder if MEARS would approve of the thief?

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Posted By: barrysloate

Jimmy- I am acutely aware of it.

In 1922, shortly after the New York Public Library received the collection (Spalding died in 1919), the entire contents were catalogued. I have a copy myself of the 1922 inventory.

At some point around 1990, a new list was created that cites the pieces missing since the original was drawn up. During one of my trips to see the collection, I took a look at the updated list. It's tragic to see what is missing. I can't remember specifically but every purloined item was historically significant.

I believe that any museum or institution that allows the general public to handle valuable items has suffered the same fate.

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Posted By: Dan Bretta

I'm curious as to why the name of this person isn't being mentioned in these threads with all the veiled comments. I know who is being talked about so nobody needs to email me, but nobody else has ever gotten that accommodation when accused of wrongdoing on these forums.

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Posted By: paulstratton

If all the contents were documented in 1922 and some are now "missing", can't the "owner" be forced to give them back? ...or prosecuted for possessing stolen goods?...or something?

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Posted By: Tom Boblitt

much like the word 'whilst', you don't get to see the word 'purloin' on chatrooms often enough. I salute you! Just joking........I love a good purloin with some A1........I had about 4 hours sleep last night.

I agree with the HOF. While I understand you can't display everything, sell some crap you don't need if ya got too much of it. There's SO many people who'd like to have it.........

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Posted By: barrysloate

And if you steal a rare letter it would be:

The Purloined Letter!

Tom- here's a good one: I went to my butcher to buy lamb chops and I asked him how much did it cost per loin?

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Posted By: Jimmy Leiderman

Barry, would it be possible for you to send me the 1990 updated list?

On my last visit to the NYPL, I went looking for the St. George's Cricket Club register of play and it wasn't there according to the library guys. Hope it wasn't part of the loot.

And only to think It wasn't even part of the photography room where most of the missing pieces where from.

As a FYI for future visitors to the NYPL, be sure to check if the items you want to see are still in there and not missing so you don't end up losing the trip.

Leon, I don't recall hearing any of the original robbers names, just know the names of some "collectors" who bought stolen items either directly or through the auction houses (Some of the old time auction houses had to know the items were stolen since most of the material was unique).

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Posted By: barrysloate

Jimmy- I don't have the updated list. I only saw a single copy on one of my trips to the NYPL. I don't think that is something that is given out to the public. I can't imagine they even want people to know about it.

Also, the register for the Cricket Club likely wouldn't be in the Department of Photos and Prints, but in a room on the opposite side of the library (I forget the name). If the register has been microfilmed, they will only allow you to view that. If it hasn't been microfilmed, they may allow you to handle the original. It's a strange system but that's the way they do it.

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Posted By: Jimmy Leiderman

Barry, the guys from the "other" room were the ones that told me that it was missing.

I was trying to be sarcastic about items being stolen even in other rooms.

I remember seeing that the blue book they have at the photo room was annotated with some of the missing pieces but I didn't have the time to write down the info on my "1922" copy.

Maybe next time!

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Posted By: Jimmy Leiderman

Leon, many thanks for your email and for ruining my weekend.