Signed Booth items on the block

[J. Beckert]

From Profiles in History in California. A signed playbook and a letter to John Ellsworth, Booth's friend and owner of the Academy of Music in Cleveland.

Strangely, the Rhodehamel/Taper book lists ownership of the letter as the Harvard Theater Collection.

http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/bo...8ddb3b5068

http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/bo...08b4c0c070

[L Verge]

That tends to make one think that perhaps Harvard is selling off some of the collections to raise funds???

[J. Beckert]

Or it got lifted. That's happened before in this field, if I'm not mistaken.

[LincolnMan]

How would a buyer know if it was stolen or not?

[Gene C]

After you purchase it the cops show up and take it away from you and then charge you with being in possession of stolen goods.

[LincolnMan]

Gene, I would hope the buyer would know beforehand- but I suppose that is not always the case.

[L Verge]

Many repositories of history have been and continue to be good hunting grounds for thieves. Unless archivists, librarians, custodians, or whoever have good security plans in effect and pay close attention to the papers or objects under their control on a frequent basis, they are likely to find their holdings on the market. There is a member of the Surratt Society whose specific job with the National Archives is to monitor the situations and keep a close eye on private sales and auctions.