New Twist In Smiley Case

Administrators from several of the nation’s top libraries, including Harvard’s Houghton Library, will meet at Yale on Aug. 7 to determine the ownership of 97 maps stolen by E. Forbes Smiley III.

But at least four of those libraries, including the Houghton, are missing copies of the same maps, raising concern that Smiley may have taken more than he has admitted to stealing from seven libraries over a seven-and-a-half year period in a plea bargain he signed in June.

The maps missing from Harvard’s collection, for example, overlap with maps missing from collections at the New York Public Library, Yale University, the Boston Public Library, and the British Library, according to Harvard College Library (HCL) Director of Communications Beth S. Brainard.

The Aug. 7 meeting will allow the libraries to look closely at the 97 maps recovered by the government to determine which collection each map was stolen from, she said.

“Some of the institutions will come up with a longer list of missing items after this meeting,” Brainard said.

By comparing the edges of maps and damage to the paper the maps were printed on, the libraries’ representatives hope to determine what map belongs to what book—and thus to what library, she said.

Harvard released a list last Friday of 13 maps missing from its collection. Smiley has admitted to stealing only eight of those maps, and the whereabouts of the remaining five remains a mystery. But Harvard is certain that Smiley looked at the books containing the five unaccounted-for maps, Brainard said.

The eight maps Smiley has admitted to stealing are expected to be returned to the University around the time of Smiley’s sentencing in September. But because Harvard’s missing maps overlap with those of other institutions, fewer than eight maps will be returned if some of the recovered copies are found to belong to other libraries instead.

The Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the case against Smiley, “has no reason to believe at this point” that Smiley hasn’t been forthcoming with the information he has provided them, according to Justice Department Public Information Officer Tom Carson. But the Justice Department is “more than willing to receive any additional information that has been uncovered,” he said.

The British Library believes that Smiley may have taken three other maps from its collection in addition to the one he admitted to stealing. To prove this, the library has hired a Philadelphia lawyer with experience prosecuting art and culture thieves, according to The Hartford Courant.

Carson declined to comment on what might happen to Smiley if more stolen maps were found.

“We continue to entertain serious doubts about the completeness of the investigation and the extent of Mr. Smiley’s cooperation with the authorities,” British Library Director of Scholarship and Collections Clive Field wrote to the FBI, according to The Courant.

Though Harvard has yet to hire its own prosecutor, it may choose to do so in the future.

“We’re keeping all our options open right now,” Brainard said.

Sheehan & Reeve of New Haven, Conn., the law firm defending Smiley, declined to comment Wednesday.

Smiley’s lawyer, Richard Reeve, told The Courant last Sunday that Smiley had reported every map he had stolen.

“Either the maps have legs themselves or there are other people taking maps,” he said.

­—Staff writer Brittney L. Moraski can be reached at bmoraski@fas.harvard.edu.