Stephen Blumberg
Encyclopedia
Stephen Carrie Blumberg (born St. Paul, Minnesota
) is best known as a bibliomane
who lived in Ottumwa
, Iowa
. He became known as the Book Bandit and was the most successful book thief of the 20th century in the United States.
ed for stealing more than 23,600 rare, valuable and assorted other books from 268 or more universities
and museum
s in 45 state
s, 2 Canadian provinces along with Washington, D.C.
Their value was placed at about $
20 million, but was later changed to $5.3 million, the largest book theft in US history. In 1991 Blumberg was found guilty and sentenced to 71 months in prison with a $200,000 fine. On December 29, 1995 he was released from prison. The collection has been referred to as the "Blumberg Collection." The Rare Books and Manuscripts division of the Association of College and Research Libraries
as well as Library Security expert William Andrew Moffett
helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation to capture and convict Stephen Blumberg and identify the rare items he had stolen.
Blumberg’s arrest came as a result of his "friend" Kenneth J. Rhodes turning him in for a $56,000 bounty
he negotiated with the Justice Department. Rhodes and Blumberg had known each other since the mid 1970’s. A known criminal, Rhodes accompanied Blumberg on several of his "road trip" collecting sprees.
Blumberg lived on a $72,000 annual family trust fund. His compulsion to collect books developed in childhood when he became interested in many of the beautiful, but run-down Victorian homes in St. Louis he walked past on his way to school. Blumberg began removing doorknobs and stained glass windows from the old houses that were slated for destruction as part of a revitalization project in St. Louis. Blumberg amassed hundreds of these items during the course of his collecting years in addition to the books. His initial interest in Victorian architecture
brought him into the rare-books stacks at the University of Minnesota
. Blumberg initially took items as a way to create a reference collection for his own use.
During Blumberg’s 1991 trial, Dr. William S. Logan, director of the Law and Psychiatry Department at the Menninger Clinic and a nationally recognized authority on forensic psychiatry
, revealed that Stephen had undergone psychiatric treatment for schizophrenic delusions and tendencies. He was hospitalized numerous times during his adolescence where twelve psychiatrists diagnosed him variously as schizophrenic, delusional, paranoid
, or compulsive. Dr. Logan also revealed that a history of psychiatric illness was in Blumberg’s family.
Dr. Logan reported during the trial that Blumberg’s thought was to preserve or rescue the materials he stole from what he believed was destruction. Blumberg believed that the government was plotting to keep the ordinary person from having access to rare books and unique materials, and so sought to liberate and release them in an attempt to thwart the government plot. Blumberg admitted that he saw himself as a custodian of the things he took. He said he would never sell them because he thought that would be dishonest. He envisioned the items would be returned to the rightful owners after his passing, or at least to another repository that could care for them. (513) Despite these findings, Blumberg was convicted in 1991 as guilty, without reason of insanity
. After serving a 4 and ½ year sentence, Blumberg was released and continued his collecting and stealing habits.
Some of the more precious objects Blumberg stole include a first edition copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe
’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin; A Confession of Faith, the first published book in CT in 1710; 25 boxes of rare materials outlining the early history of Oregon
including the Webfoot Diary; and The Bishop’s Bible, a beautiful sixteenth century volume. Blumberg claimed he put together 100 incunabula in three years, including the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle
bound in ivory calfskin. He also collected the "Zamorano 80," a list of rare books established in 1945 by a group of prominent book collectors in a Los Angeles book club named after Don Augustin Zamorano, California’s first printer.
Upon meeting Blumberg in the FBI’s stacks after his arrest, John L. Sharpe III from Duke University
’s library commented about his brief conversation with Blumberg that, "What I felt...was that we in libraries have to operate on a trust system every time we bring a book to someone’s table. This is what I think is so sinister about the whole thing. This man chose to debase that, to debase that commodity that is so essential in gathering information in an open institution. And I think he betrayed everything that we try to represent in making information available as freely and as uninhibitedly as possible. And I think that’s what really just enraged me, to think that this man took advantage of that kind of access." (511)
In 1997, Blumberg was convicted again of burglary of antiques. He was again arrested in July 2003 for burglary of a house in Keokuk, IA. He was subsequently convicted in early 2004. He was again arrested in June 2004 for burglary in Knoxville, IL. This violated his probation for the 2004 conviction in Keokuk, IA for which he was again arrested.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
) is best known as a bibliomane
Bibliomania
Bibliomania can be a symptom of obsessive–compulsive disorder which involves the collecting or even hoarding of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged.-Description:...
who lived in Ottumwa
Ottumwa, Iowa
Ottumwa is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census. It is located in the southeastern part of Iowa, and the city is split into northern and southern halves by the Des Moines River....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. He became known as the Book Bandit and was the most successful book thief of the 20th century in the United States.
Personal
At 2:00 a.m. on March 20, 1990 Stephen Blumberg was arrestArrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed for stealing more than 23,600 rare, valuable and assorted other books from 268 or more universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s in 45 state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s, 2 Canadian provinces along with Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Their value was placed at about $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
20 million, but was later changed to $5.3 million, the largest book theft in US history. In 1991 Blumberg was found guilty and sentenced to 71 months in prison with a $200,000 fine. On December 29, 1995 he was released from prison. The collection has been referred to as the "Blumberg Collection." The Rare Books and Manuscripts division of the Association of College and Research Libraries
Association of College and Research Libraries
The Association of College and Research Libraries , a division of the American Library Association , is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals...
as well as Library Security expert William Andrew Moffett
William Andrew Moffett
-Introduction:William Andrew Moffett was a historian and librarian who placed on the 1999 American Libraries list of "100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century"...
helped the Federal Bureau of Investigation to capture and convict Stephen Blumberg and identify the rare items he had stolen.
Blumberg’s arrest came as a result of his "friend" Kenneth J. Rhodes turning him in for a $56,000 bounty
Bounty (reward)
A bounty is a payment or reward often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. Bounties are most commonly issued for the capture or retrieval of a person or object. They are typically in the form of money...
he negotiated with the Justice Department. Rhodes and Blumberg had known each other since the mid 1970’s. A known criminal, Rhodes accompanied Blumberg on several of his "road trip" collecting sprees.
Blumberg lived on a $72,000 annual family trust fund. His compulsion to collect books developed in childhood when he became interested in many of the beautiful, but run-down Victorian homes in St. Louis he walked past on his way to school. Blumberg began removing doorknobs and stained glass windows from the old houses that were slated for destruction as part of a revitalization project in St. Louis. Blumberg amassed hundreds of these items during the course of his collecting years in addition to the books. His initial interest in Victorian architecture
Victorian architecture
The term Victorian architecture refers collectively to several architectural styles employed predominantly during the middle and late 19th century. The period that it indicates may slightly overlap the actual reign, 20 June 1837 – 22 January 1901, of Queen Victoria. This represents the British and...
brought him into the rare-books stacks at the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...
. Blumberg initially took items as a way to create a reference collection for his own use.
During Blumberg’s 1991 trial, Dr. William S. Logan, director of the Law and Psychiatry Department at the Menninger Clinic and a nationally recognized authority on forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry is a sub-speciality of psychiatry and an auxiliar science of criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry...
, revealed that Stephen had undergone psychiatric treatment for schizophrenic delusions and tendencies. He was hospitalized numerous times during his adolescence where twelve psychiatrists diagnosed him variously as schizophrenic, delusional, paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
, or compulsive. Dr. Logan also revealed that a history of psychiatric illness was in Blumberg’s family.
Dr. Logan reported during the trial that Blumberg’s thought was to preserve or rescue the materials he stole from what he believed was destruction. Blumberg believed that the government was plotting to keep the ordinary person from having access to rare books and unique materials, and so sought to liberate and release them in an attempt to thwart the government plot. Blumberg admitted that he saw himself as a custodian of the things he took. He said he would never sell them because he thought that would be dishonest. He envisioned the items would be returned to the rightful owners after his passing, or at least to another repository that could care for them. (513) Despite these findings, Blumberg was convicted in 1991 as guilty, without reason of insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
. After serving a 4 and ½ year sentence, Blumberg was released and continued his collecting and stealing habits.
Some of the more precious objects Blumberg stole include a first edition copy of Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin; A Confession of Faith, the first published book in CT in 1710; 25 boxes of rare materials outlining the early history of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
including the Webfoot Diary; and The Bishop’s Bible, a beautiful sixteenth century volume. Blumberg claimed he put together 100 incunabula in three years, including the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle
Nuremberg Chronicle
right|thumbnail|240px|Fifth dayThe Nuremberg Chronicle is an illustrated Biblical paraphrase and world history that follows the story of human history related in the Bible; it includes the histories of a number of important Western cities. Written in Latin by Hartmann Schedel, with a version in...
bound in ivory calfskin. He also collected the "Zamorano 80," a list of rare books established in 1945 by a group of prominent book collectors in a Los Angeles book club named after Don Augustin Zamorano, California’s first printer.
Upon meeting Blumberg in the FBI’s stacks after his arrest, John L. Sharpe III from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
’s library commented about his brief conversation with Blumberg that, "What I felt...was that we in libraries have to operate on a trust system every time we bring a book to someone’s table. This is what I think is so sinister about the whole thing. This man chose to debase that, to debase that commodity that is so essential in gathering information in an open institution. And I think he betrayed everything that we try to represent in making information available as freely and as uninhibitedly as possible. And I think that’s what really just enraged me, to think that this man took advantage of that kind of access." (511)
In 1997, Blumberg was convicted again of burglary of antiques. He was again arrested in July 2003 for burglary of a house in Keokuk, IA. He was subsequently convicted in early 2004. He was again arrested in June 2004 for burglary in Knoxville, IL. This violated his probation for the 2004 conviction in Keokuk, IA for which he was again arrested.
External links
- Stephen Blumberg and His Stolen Books
- http://harvardmagazine.com/1997/03/biblio.3.html
- http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/165/12/1646.pdf