Article: "On the trail of Martha’s Vineyard’s rare map thief"
 

I thought this was pretty interesting. The article, according to the Globe is adapted from The Map Thief by Michael Blanding.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/...DgL/story.html

Interesting part is the punchline in which I suppose you could easily change "maps" to "cards":

"David Cobb, former curator of the Harvard Map Collection, will never forget a conference he attended in Guatemala a few years after Smiley’s thefts. Giving a talk about security to a few dozen map collectors, he asked, “Do any of you think you have stolen maps in your collection?” None of them raised their hands.

Next Cobb asked, “Would any of you refuse to purchase a stolen map if you knew it was stolen?” Again, none of them raised their hands."

Have a nice day,
Steve

Steve - Great article, thanks for sharing it. If you like these type of stories then you may also enjoy this book about the FBI's art crime unit.

http://www.amazon.com/Priceless-Unde.../dp/0307461483

The Burdick Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. You don't have to substitute cards for maps. It's well known. Many pages have gone missing.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/22/sp...anted=all&_r=0

Excellent point, Paul. My wife and I frequent the Met, and I always look forward to when they put out a new rotation from the collection on display.

Thanks, Alex, for the book recommendation -- it will go on my (long :) list of books to read -- and from the reviews, it will jump ahead of this one:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Gardner-He...d_bxgy_b_img_y

Steve

Great article. Thanks for sharing.