Page 7 - aruba-today-20180721

A7
U.S. NEWS Saturday 21 July 2018

Newton's 'Principia' among items in alleged $8M book scheme

By MARC LEVY their records to determine a book signed by Thomas
An archivist and an antique whether they bought or Jefferson. The letter was
bookseller were charged resold anything from Schul- designed to make it look
Friday with stealing millions man's store, Caliban Book as though the library had
of dollars' worth of rare Store. removed the book from its
books, illustrations, maps "I can assure you if anybody archives, detectives said.
and photographs from a bought anything from Cali- An appraiser helping de-
Pennsylvania library over a ban, they're seeing these tectives found that book,
20-year period, including headlines and saying, 'Uh "De la France et des Etats-
Isaac Newton's "Principia," oh, I'm looking at my books Unis," for sale online for
considered a watershed of right now,'" Dunlap said. $95,000 from a bookstore
science. The alleged scheme started in New York. The book had
In some cases, the archi- unraveling last year when been bought and sold
vist used an X-Acto knife appraisers began a routine twice after Schulman alleg-
to cut potentially valuable audit commissioned by the edly sold it to Bartleby's, de- Greg Priore, the former Oliver Room archivist at the Carnegie
maps and illustrations out library and discovered that tectives said. Library of Pittsburgh, is taken in cuffs after arraignment at City
of books in the Carnegie items were missing or dam- In a 36-page narrative Court, Friday, July 20, 2018 in Pittsburgh.
Library of Pittsburgh's histori- aged since the last audit in filed in court, Priore told Associated Press
cal collection, authorities 1991. detectives that he first ap-
said. They ultimately sold The library locked down proached Schulman in the library's special collec- up and carried it out, they
to other collectors famous the room, and appraisers the late 1990s about sell- tions room, simply walked said.
originals that were hun- quickly began finding miss- ing items from the library's out of the library with books, "Priore chose items from
dreds of years old, authori- ing items for sale online, as special collection and that authorities say. Sometimes the Oliver Room to give to
ties said. well as items that had been Schulman agreed to do it. he concealed maps or illus- Schulman to sell if Priore felt
Researchers found more sold or advertised by Schul- Priore, who in 1991 became trations in a manila folder they had value," the com-
than 300 items damaged man's bookstore, a block manager and archivist of or, if it was larger, rolled it plaint said. q
or missing, a loss estimated away from the library.
at $8 million. In June 2017, library officials
Charged were former contacted authorities and
Carnegie Library archivist fired Priore.
Gregory Priore, 61, and Detectives say efforts to
bookstore owner John recover the items have
Schulman, 54, with theft, netted books, plates and
conspiracy, forgery, receiv- maps estimated at a value
ing stolen property and of $1.1 million. Some were
other counts in the disap- found during a search last
pearance of hundreds of year of Schulman's book
items. warehouse, detectives
Lawyers for the men did said.
not return messages seek- One particularly valuable
ing comment. In a state- item allegedly stolen and
ment, library officials said recovered was Newton's
they were "deeply disap- "Philosophiae Naturalis
pointed that at the center Principia Mathematica,"
of this case are two people with an estimated value of
who had close, long-stand- $900,000.
ing relationships with the li- Listed as a total loss are: "An
brary." Inquiry into the Nature and
Some in the antique and Causes of the Wealth of
historical book world had Nations" by Adam Smith, at
heard about the case in a value of $180,000; a jour-
the spring when authorities nal of George Washington,
issued a detailed list of miss- estimated at $250,000; and
ing items and then when "Reise in das Innere Nord-
authorities unsealed search America" by Prince Alexan-
warrants three weeks ago. der Philipp Maximilian and
Ellen Dunlap, president of Karl Bodmer, at a value of
the American Antiquarian $1.2 million.
Society, said institutions, In one case, the men alleg-
booksellers and collectors edly forged a letter from
likely are going through the library to help them sell