The Map Thief
Also by Michael Blanding
THE COKE MACHINE
GOTHAM BOOKS
Published by the Penguin Group
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Frontispiece and figures 2, 8, and 12 original illustrations by Jelmer Noordeman and Koen Harmsma, Bier en Brood. Figures 1, 18, A, and C courtesy of Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Figure 3 courtesy of Bedford Historical Society. Figures 4 and 5 courtesy of Library of Congress, g3200 ct000725C. Figures 6, 10, E, G, and L map reproduction courtesy of the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library. Figure 7 courtesy of Library of Congress, g3710 070900. Figure 9 from Recollections of Sebec, Maine: Stories Across Two Generations by Shirley Nason Wright, courtesy of Shirley Nason Wright. Figure 11 courtesy of Library of Congress, g3710 ct003573a. Figure 13 courtesy of the Library of Virginia. Figure 14 courtesy of Library of Congress, g3700 ct000675. Figure 15 courtesy of Library of Congress, France in America collection. Figure 16 courtesy of the author. Figures 17, B, H, and N courtesy of Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc., www.raremaps.com. Figure D from Wikimedia Commons. Figure F courtesy of Library of Congress, g3200 ct000270. Figure I courtesy of Sterling Memorial Library Map Collection, Yale University Library. Figure J courtesy of Library of Congress, g3300 ct000232. Figure K courtesy of Library of Congress, g3700 ct000666. Figure M courtesy of Kris Butler and Shipyard Brewery. Figure O courtesy of Connecticut State’s Attorney, New Haven Judicial District. Figure P AP Photo/Fred Beckham.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
has been applied for.
ISBN 978-0-698-15698-2
While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers, Internet addresses, and other contact information at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Version_1
SMILEY’S NEW ENGLAND.
To Zachary and Cleo
May you always find your way.
Contents
Also by Michael Blanding
Title Page
Copyright
Frontispiece
Dedication
List of Characters
Selected Mapmakers, 1470–1860
Epigraph
INTRODUCTION
Chapter 1 THE EXPLORER AND THE THIEF
Chapter 2 SMALL HOPE
Chapter 3 A NEW WORLD
Chapter 4 WHO KNOWS THE MOST WINS
Chapter 5 CATALOG NUMBER ONE
Chapter 6 PLAYING HARDBALL
Chapter 7 UPWARD DEPARTURE
Chapter 8 THE BATTLE OF SEBEC
Chapter 9 MISSING MAPS, MISSING CARDS
Chapter 10 CAUGHT!
Chapter 11 THE PLEA
Chapter 12 MAP QUEST
Chapter 13 TERRA INCOGNITA
EPILOGUE
Photographs
Appendix A: Maps Smiley Admitted Stealing
Appendix B: Additional Maps Libraries Reported Missing
Acknowledgments
Bibliography
Notes
Index
List of Characters
ALL TITLES AS OF JUNE 2005, unless otherwise noted.
The Dealers
MARTHA’S VINEYARD
Edward Forbes Smiley III
NEW YORK
B. Altman and Co. (closed 1985)
Rosejeanne Slifer (d. 1989)
Arader Galleries
Graham Arader
The Old Print Shop
Harry Newman
Robert Newman
Richard B. Arkway, Inc.
Dick Arkway
Paul Cohen
Henry Taliaferro
NEW HAVEN
Bill Reese
LONDON
Philip Burden
Ashley Baynton-Williams
Jonathan Potter
R.V. “Mick” Tooley (d. 1986)
CHICAGO
Ken Nebenzahl
SAN DIEGO
Barry Ruderman
The Libraries
YALE UNIVERSITY
Alice Prochaska, head of libraries
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Frank Turner, director
E.C. Schroeder, head of technical services
Ellen Cordes, head of public services
Naomi Saito, library services assistant
Ralph Mannarino, supervisor of building operations and security
Sterling Memorial Library Map Collection
Fred Musto, curator
Margit Kaye, library services assistant
Abe Parrish, GIS specialist
Yale Police Department
Martin Buonfiglio, detective
Bill Holohan, lieutenant
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
Paul LeClerc, president
David Ferriero, director of the research libraries
Bill Walker, former director of the research libraries
Map Division
Alice Hudson, chief
Matt Knudsen, assistant chief
Nancy Kandoian, map cataloger
Rare Book Division
Michael Inman, curator
BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
Bernard Margolis, president
Norman B. Leventhal Map Center
Ron Grim, curator
Rare Books Department
Earle Havens, curator of manuscripts
Roberta Zonghi, keeper of rare books
HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Nancy Cline, head of libraries
Houghton Library
Bill Stoneman, librarian
Map Collection
David Cobb, curator
BRITISH LIBRARY
Clive Field, director of scholarship and collections
Map Library
Peter Barber, director
Tony Campbell, former director (retired)
NEWBERRY LIBRARY
Charles Cullen, president
Maps Section
Bob Karrow, curator
Collectors
Norman Leventhal (Boston)
Lawrence Slaughter (Larchmont, New York)
Harold Osher (Portland, Maine)
Barry McLean (Chicago)
Bob Gordon (New York)
Jim Curtis (Boston)
Smiley’s Family and Friends
FAMILY
Edward Forbes Smiley II, father
Adele Smiley, mother
Edward “Ned” Forbes Smil
ey IV, son
Marion Smiley, sister
Marilyn (Smiley) Phillips, sister
Susan (Smiley) Burns, twin sister
Lisa Smiley, wife
DERRYFIELD SCHOOL
Paul Statt
Hilary Chaplain
HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
Scott Slater
Bennett Fischer
Scott Haas
Fred Melamed
Dick Cantwell
OTHER
Bob von Elgg, Slater’s brother-in-law
In Sebec
Glen Fariel, next-door neighbor, former selectman
David Mallett, president, Sebec Historical Society
Jayne Lello, manager, Sebec post office
Bill and Charlene Moriarty, owners, Sebec Village Marina
Buzz Small, selectman
Susan Dow, selectman
Walt Emmons, member, planning department
Louisa Finnemore, president, Sebec Reading Room Association (now Sebec Village Associates)
The Law
Stephen Kelleher, special agent, New Haven field office, FBI
Christopher “Kit” Schmeisser, assistant US attorney
Janet Bond Arterton, judge, US Court, District of Southern Connecticut
Michael Dearington, state’s attorney, state of Connecticut
Richard Damiani, judge, Connecticut District Court
Bob Goldman, former special trial attorney, US Justice Department, now managing partner, Goldman Law Offices
SELECTED MAPMAKERS, 1470–1860
Name
Nationality
Dates*
Martin Waldseemüller
German
1470–1520
Hernán Cortés
Spanish
1485–1547
Oronce Fine
French
1494–1555
Peter Apian
German
1495–1552
Gerard de Jode
Flemish
1509–1591
Gerard Mercator
Flemish
1509–1591
Abraham Ortelius
Flemish
1527–1598
Theodor de Bry
Flemish
1528–1598
Robert Dudley
English
1531–1588
Jacques Le Moyne
French
1533–1588
John White
English
1540–1593
John Speed
English
1542–1629
Richard Hakluyt
English
1552–1616
George Best
English
1555–1584
Edward Wright
English
1561–1615
Henry Briggs
English
1561–1630
Jodocus Hondius
Flemish
1563–1612
William Alexander
English
1567–1640
Cornelius de Jode
Dutch
1568–1600
Willem Blaeu
Dutch
1571–1638
Samuel de Champlain
French
1574–1635
John Smith
English
1580–1631
William Wood
English
1580–1639
Luke Foxe
English
1586–1635
Hendrik Hondius
Dutch
1587–1651
Jan Jansson
Dutch
1588–1664
Jodocus Hondius II
Dutch
1593–1629
Joan Blaeu
Dutch
1596–1673
Nicolas Sanson
French
1600–1667
John Ogilby
English
1600–1676
Cornelius Blaeu
Dutch
1616–1648
Claude Dablon
French
1618–1697
Claude Allouez
French
1622–1689
Thomas Holme
English
1624–1695
Hendrick Doncker
Dutch
1626–1699
John Seller
English
1630–1697
William Berry
English
1639–1718
John Thornton
English
1641–1708
John Bonner
English
1643–1726
John Foster
English
1648–1681
Herman Moll
English
1654–1732
Robert Morden
English
1668–1703
Guillaume De L’Isle
French
1675–1726
Joshua Fry
English
1699–1754
Lewis Evans
English
1700–1756
Peter Jefferson
American
; 1708–1757
Thomas Jefferys
English
1710–1771
Joseph F.W. Des Barres
English
1721–1824
William Scull
American
1739–1784
Thomas Jefferson
American
1743–1826
Reading Howell
English
1743–1827
Henry Pelham
American
1748–1806
John Norman
American
1748–1817
James Madison
American
1749–1812
William Faden
English
1750–1836
Andrew Ellicott
American
1754–1820
John Collet
English
1756–1789
William Norman
American
1770–1807
John Melish
Scottish
1771–1822