ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries November 1 9901 939 Theft in libraries or archives Susan M. Allen Acting Head, Special Collections The Claremont Colleges What to do during the aftermath o f a theft. A theft o f books, manuscripts, or archival material from a library or archive may sneak upon you quietly and w ithout notice— like an earthquake or a fire. T he resulting disaster from theft may be as devastating as any natural disaster for an institution’s collections. Just as wa­ ter-soaked materials are certain to be lost forever if timely action is not taken to trea t them , so stolen materials will be lost forever if timely action is not taken to attem pt to recover them . It would be well to ask questions about theft and to incorporate theft in a disaster plan as one to rank with those disasters o f a more natural origin, such as fire and water. Usually a disaster plan is w ritten in two parts: the “before” section th at enum erates preparedness issues and activities, and the “after” th at outlines recovery efforts, procedures, and resources. If theft w ere included in a plan, preparedness factors such as thorough bibliographic control, high stan­ dards for timely inventory, approved marking prac­ tices, issues involving retention and quality of user records, knowledge o f insurance coverage, and the need for constant vigilance might be prescribed in the first section. The second section could include a plan for recovery which would address such problem s as how theft is discovered, what the p ro p er aims o f any recovery plan ought to be, what the actions are that m ust be included in the recov­ ery plan, and finally, what the im pact o f a theft and m the recovery effort may be on staff and the actual work o f a d epartm ent or an archive. The rem ainder oucf hth is p ap er addresses these problem s and offers some concrete solutions which are vital to any theft recovery effort. How is theft discovered? The M arch 1990 arrest o f Stephen Blum berg at his hom e in Iowa for transporting across state lines m ore than 28,000 stolen books and manuscripts valued at $20 million and the revelations surround­ ing this case indicate that the libraries he victimized discovered th eir losses by quite a variety o f circum ­ stances. It is not uncom m on for a library or archive to be unaware that materials have actually left their prem ises until a telephone call from an alert book dealer or law enforcem ent agent arouses suspicion. Recovery of materials stolen then often becom es th e signal that all is not right. On the other hand, evidence o f forced intrusion or apprehension o f a person in the act may rather abruptly signal a theft. M ore subtle indicators such as altered biblio­ graphic records or substitutions may be the alert that a patron or staff m em ber has stolen valuable materials. It is also possible that regular inventories may reveal a systematic p attern o f loss w ithout providing any explanation. The most difficult dis­ covery to grapple with is what insurance adjustors call “mysterious disappearance.” 9 4 0 1 C&RL News An im portant and valuable item th a t is seldom used may one day tu rn up missing w ithout any sign o f intrusion or other irregularity. This may be the h ard est type o f theft to confront because feelings of denial m ust be overcom e before one is em otionally able to take positive action. (It behooves any ad­ m inistrator o f special collections or archives to have a thorough knowledge o f insurance coverage p rio r to any kind o f disaster and knowledge o f “mysterious disappearance” coverage should be am ong th e inform ation sought.) The aims and actions of a recovery plan As soon as evidence has b een collected th at indicates th e occurrence o f a major theft, “[one’s] practice and p u rsu it” (as Aristotle said in his Ethics) m ust be aim ed tow ard an im portant good. In this case th e “good” is recovery and apprehension— recovery o f p ro p erty and/or insurance reim b u rse­ m ents and apprehension o f the crim inal or crim i­ nals who p e rp e tra te d th e crime. Aiming tow ard this “good” m ust becom e th e highest priority o f the institution. But w hat is th e best “practice and p u r­ suit” to accom plish recovery and apprehension? “ACRL guidelines for the security o f rare book, m anuscript, and o th e r special collections,” p re ­ pared by A C R L’s Rare Books and M anuscripts Section Security C om m ittee, is available as an excellent guide.1 By way o f summary, one should rem em b er th a t in virtually any case th ree types of action m ust be undertaken. Action m ust be u n d e r­ taken to notify. Action m ust be u ndertaken to inventory. And action m ust b e u n d e rta k e n to chronicle. And all o f this m ust be u ndertaken at th e same tim e, often by th e same individual. T he fol­ lowing explanation illum inates w hat is m eant by this trio. The notification process Historically libraries and archives have tried to “hush u p ” thefts, or they w ould simply ignore them for fear of being shunned by donors if th e thefts came to light. It is safe to say th a t this argum ent no longer holds credibility, nor is it seen as ethical in the professional library and archival world. T h ere is virtually no institution big or small, prestigious or not that has not experienced problem s o f theft. T he question is no longer a question o f w h eth er to notify. R ather it has shifted to a question o f who should do th e notifying and who should be notified. W ho does the notifying will vary from institution to institution. Size, staff, lines o f responsibility, the RBMS Security C om m ittee “ACRL G uidelines for the Security of Rare Book, M anuscript, and O ther Special Collections,” C & RL News 51 (M arch 1990): 240-44. existence o f a security officer (highly re c o m ­ m ended by th e RBMS Guidelines), m anagem ent style, and organization structure may all have an im pact on decisions regarding th e appropriate person to contact each constituency. W hat does rem ain constant are th e constituent groups th at m ust be notified by som eone. O f course th e adm inistrators, trustees, and staff o f th e institution m ust be inform ed, as well as th e institution’s insurers. Staff, especially, will be in­ clined to spread rum ors if they are not inform ed honestly. This may dem and a delicate balance as som etim es a lack o f inform ation may be perceived as a w ithholding o f inform ation. Law enforcem ent personnel should be notified; since they te n d to work along hierarchical lines, the m ost local agency should be contacted first. F o r example, if an institution is p art o f a cam pus, th e n th e cam pus police should be consulted first. These officers will contact city, county, state, and federal agents as they determ ine they are needed. I f th e institution is in d ep en d en t, city police should be c o n ta c te d first. (L arge cities som etim es have agents assigned to thefts and forgeries o f art o b ­ jects. Stolen rare books and docum ents o f a signifi­ cant value, i.e., if th e ir th eft constitutes a felony, fall into this category.) If th e re is good reason to believe th a t w hat has b een stolen has b een taken across state lines, or if th e items are extrem ely valuable, th e n th e local law enforcem ent agency is likely to contact th e FB I. At some point it may be appropri­ ate to contract for th e services o f a private investi­ gator. In cases w here a th ie f has crossed national b o r­ ders, or if it is suspected th a t stolen materials have b een shipped out o f th e U nited States, th e law enforcem ent agent contact may recom m end that Interpol (the International Crim inal Police O r­ ganization o f w hich 142 countries are m em bers) becom e involved.2 T he Interpol G eneral S ecretar­ iat circulates almost two dozen notices m onthly with “inform ation about stolen p ro p erty or about objects found in circum stances th a t suggest they may have b een acquired illicitly. . . . Each notice may contain inform ation about th e th e ft o f a single work o f art or an entire collection.”3 * * Stolen rare books and m anuscripts fall w ithin th e limits o f the type o f cultural p ro p erty th a t Interpol tries to recover. T h eir notices connect with an in tern a­ tional law enforcem ent netw ork th a t may not be ta p p ed any o th e r way. 2Contact: Interpol/U SN C B , Angela Meadows, Art Analyst, U.S. D e p a rtm e n t o f Justice, W ashing­ ton, D C 20530; (202) 272-8383. 3Jane G riffin Yeingst, “In te rp o l’s Stolen Art P ro g ram ,” in Journal o f Field Archaeology 14 (Sum m er 1987): 222. November 1 9 9 0 1 941 A second group th a t should be notified im m edi­ ately is rare book and m anuscript dealers and auc­ tion houses. This can be done through individual contact, which is quite tim e consuming, or by connecting with dealers’ networks. T he Security C om m ittee o f th e Antiquarian Booksellers Asso­ ciation o f America has b een working recently to organize a new one— “Bookwatch U.S.A.”— to re ­ port stolen and missing books to dealers both by telephone and by th e mails. M odeled after th e system in place in Britain it should assist libraries and archives in th e notification process nationwide. Its developm ent should be applauded and en co u r­ aged. At th e p resen t tim e to activate “Bookwatch U.S.A.” one m ust contact ABAA headquarters by telephone, fax, and/or le tter to report missing or stolen books.4 This one contact will set in m otion a national te le p h o n e chain organized by region w hich connects an d inform s ABAA m e m b ers across th e U nited States. T he hope is th a t ABAA m em bers will also pass on any inform ation reg ard ­ ing a th eft to o th er local non-ABAA dealers as well. T he initial telephone message alert is followed by a mailing called th e “Pink Sheet” which actually gives bibliographic details o f missing items. Five sepa­ rate “Pink Sheet” mailings w ere distributed to ABAA m em bers from th eir national headquarters in New York in th e first six to seven m onths o f th e existence o f “Bookwatch, U.S.A.” To reach British dealers one need only contact th e ABA (A ntiquarian Booksellers Association, G reat Britain) to list stolen books in its m onthly list— th e original “Pink S h eet”— d istrib u te d to m em bers, New Scotland Yard, and British libraries (by subscription) for the past fifteen years.5 This is supplem ented by a telephone chain. R em em ber, however, that after initial notifica­ tion by w hatever means— telephone, letter, and/or th ro u g h th e ABAA or ABA “Bookwatch” p ro ­ grams— it still may be necessary to keep in contact with th e dealers and auction houses— e ith e r lo­ cally, regionally, nationally, or internationally— th at are most likely to have the missing m aterial fall into th eir hands. C ontacting dealers on th e conti­ n en t and in Asia is m uch m ore problem atic as form al notification systems do not exist th ere. American dealers who normally handle m aterial o f th e type that has b een stolen can be excellent advisers regarding E uropean auction houses and o th e r foreign contacts. T he International League 4C o n tact: L iane W ood-T hom as, A n tiq u arian Booksellers Association o f America, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020; (212) 757-9395; fax, (212) 459-0307. 5Contact: Mrs. J. W hite, Secretary, Antiquarian Booksellers Association, Suite 2, 26 C haring Cross Road, London W C 2H OD6, England. o f Antiquarian Booksellers may yet provide assis­ tance in this realm. T he ABAA’s notification process was new in 1989 and is still developing. A nother existing way to notify th e international book w orld o f loss is a new sletter which lists stolen cultural objects p u b ­ lished by th e International F ederation o f Art R e­ search (IFAR).6 T he IF A R N ew sletter has a fine reputation for dissem inating inform ation th a t has led to the resolution o f cases. T he A B B ookm ans W eekly missing book advertisem ent colum n also continues to be an excellent way to broadcast a th e ft to those who can assist with recovery.7 Finally, to cover all bases with American and British bookdealers and to contribute to a p erm a­ n en t record o f book th eft in the late 20th century, two specialized databases should be notified by the submission o f missing book inventory lists. BAM- BAM (Bookline Alert Missing Books and M anu­ scripts), a database o f missing items, is ow ned p ri­ vately by Katharine and D aniel Leab, publishers of Am erican Book Prices C urrent.8 This database was established by th e Leabs m ore than te n years ago to be a notification m echanism or service. In practice, it has proved difficult and cum bersom e to access by booksellers wishing to check suspicious titles. At th e beginning, hard copy was generated from the database. Over th e years many thefts have been input so th at th e database has now grown to a healthy size. T he BAM BAM database represents an incredible am ount o f valuable inform ation on book th e ft in th e last decade. If it can be m ade m ore readily accessible to librarians and booksellers, it may yet fill th e n eed for which it was originally established. In 1987 th e British Library established th e National Library Security Office after discus­ sions and a m eeting with ABA and ABAA in hopes o f establishing an online database o f missing or stolen books. However, since th e office lacked the resources, this job fell to th e Provincial Booksellers and Fairs Association (PBFA) in cooperation with th e ABA. “T he ‘Bookwatch D atabase,’ as it is titled continues to grow,” Paul H utchinson o f PBFA rep o rted at an ABAA Security C om m ittee m eeting in Los Angeles, F ebruary 4, 1990. O ne m ust not forget th a t o th e r institutions should be notified, especially those in th e area with similar collections, for they are likely to be “h it” as well. As disaster networks are form ed across the country on th e model o f LA PN ET a n d lE L D R N in 6Contact: D r. C onstance Low enthal, In te rn a ­ tional Foundation for Art Research, 46 E. 70th Street, New York, NY 10021; (212) 879-1780. "Contact: AB B ookm ans W eekly, Missing Books Section, P.O. Box AB, Clifton, NJ 07015; (201) 772- 0020; fax, (201) 772-9281. 8Contact: Katharine and D aniel Leab, P.O. Box 1236, W ashington, CT 06793; (212) 737-2715. 942 / C&RL News Southern California it would be particularly helpful if security concerns or theft w ere placed as a stand­ ing item on the regular m eeting agendas o f these networks. This would be an excellent way to com ­ m unicate about this kind o f disaster within a given region. C ontacting the m edia is m uch m ore problem ­ atic. T he appropriateness o f entering th e m edia spotlight m ust be judged on a case by case basis. D oing so should certainly not jeopardize any inves­ tigation or recovery efforts. “Gag orders” may be im posed by judges during investigations th at re ­ quire w arrants for search and seizure and/or arrest warrants. It may be legally necessary to hold a press release until after an arrest is m ade in order to insure that evidence will not be destroyed. T he FB I is particularly shy o f publicity as it investigates a case. In any event, th e contact person should be an experienced press relations officer who can handle delicate inform ation appropriately and carefully. To avoid confusion and to be assured that erro n e­ ous reports will not appear in th e press, staff an­ swering telephones should be instructed in how and to whom to refer curious reporters. The inventory problem T he second action, one th at m ust begin as quickly as th e notification process, is an inventory o f what is missing. D epending on the circum ­ stances o f the theft, this may simply be noting the loss o f a few items, or it may m ean an extensive inventory o f th e entire collection which may take months. This goes hand in hand with th e notifica­ tion process, however. Each constituency notified will ask at least th e same two questions: “W hat is missing or stolen?” and “W hat is its value?” This is when the quality o f bibliographic records is p u t to the test. Administrators, insurers, law enforcem ent personnel, book dealers, th e ABAA, th e ABA, IFAR, Interpol, and BAMBAM will all want a missing book inventory list. Insurers may require an appraiser to place a value on missing items based on the inform ation th at can be given them from the bibliographic records available. T he FB I may not be willing to e n ter a case unless the value o f the missing material can be judged sufficiently sub­ stantial that felony charges can be anticipated in the event an arrest is made. Any book dealer will confirm that it is very difficult to place a m onetary value on items th at are not in hand. Unless condi­ tion is noted in the bibliographic record, th ere will be no way to know what it was at th e tim e th e item was carried off. As a safeguard, an institution may wish to seek an independent appraisal to judge the accuracy o f any appraisal arranged by insurers. This will also have to be perform ed from a list. As a consequence, the information in th e inventory list m ust be as accurate and com plete as possible. Any item-specific inform ation th at exists, in­ cluding binding description, th e presence or ab­ sence o f a bookplate or bookplates, notation of missing pages, inscriptions, description o f condi­ tion, w h eth er institutional markings have been added on acquisition and if so th eir description(s) and location(s), etc.— should be included. I f any photographs o f missing items w ere m ade in the past, they should be appended to th e missing book inventory list. It is b e tte r to e rr on the side o f too m uch inform ation than too little. If the existing bibliographic record is inadequate and lacking detailed item-specific inform ation, one m ust make the best o f a bad situation and piece together as m uch inform ation as possible from donor files or dealers’ catalogues from which books were p u r­ chased. In th e event that a recovery is made, all of this inform ation will prove invaluable in establish­ ing rightful ownership. U nfortunately this inven­ tory list containing item-specific inform ation m ust be com piled as quickly as possible as it will be needed im m ediately for any investigations to p ro ­ ceed. T he danger, o f course, in having to compile this list quickly is th at errors will creep into it. T herefore accuracy and speed m ust somehow be achieved simultaneously. The only thing worse than filing an insurance claim for ten stolen books is discovering later th at twenty are actually gone. The chronology of events Finally, the third action th at m ust be undertaken im m ediately is th e creation o f a chronology. This is w here archivists can really shine! O ne staff m em ­ b e r m ust be directed to keep a record, by date, of everything that has happened and everything that has been done. Names, telephone num bers, and addresses should be included w hen appropriate. This will prove to be an invaluable record later as m em ory fades. It can be used to assure trustees and insurers th at appropriate actions have been taken. And each new law enforcem ent officer or detective assigned to the case can be brought up to speed quickly by reading it. If th e case drags on for a long period o f tim e and institutional personnel changes, it may becom e th e only accurate record o f what occurred at the tim e th e theft was d etected and what action was taken at th at time. Needless to say, details may be captured in th e chronology that help to solve the case; inform ation may be saved that becom es extremely helpful in a legal action or prosecution. A chronology can be created, saved, and updated quite easily with th e help o f most word processing software. D epending on the circum ­ stances, it should be m aintained at least initially as a confidential docum ent and released only to ap­ propriate individuals. K eeping up this chronology will be less tim e-consum ing than the oth er priority actions o f th e recovery plan— notification and in­ November 1 9 9 0 1 943 ventory—b u t it will be no less im portant in th e long term . Consequences Now you may ask: “W hat is th e re left to do once everyone has b een notified, all th at is gone is accounted for in an inventory, and an historical record o f th e events has b een set in m otion?” Well, th e re will be a waiting period. Law enforcem ent personnel often seem slow to acknowledge the seriousness o f book and docum ent theft, and once they do they seem slow to act. T h ere will be waiting for a break to occur; waiting for an investigation to culm inate in an arrest; or perhaps waiting for a court date. In th e m eantim e, th e re may rem ain o th e r work th at m ust be done. F o r example, if stolen items have not tu rn e d up on th e m arket, efforts to scan dealers’ catalogs and to rem ain abreast o f auctions m ust be intensified. As a consequence, th e level o f adm inistrative m atters th at m ust be handled— including correspondence and telephoning— may increase. A security evaluation may be m andated by superiors in o rd er to prevent fu rth er such disas­ ters. This may bring about reorganization, th e in ­ stallation o f security equipm ent, and/or m ore tim e- consum ing security procedures. I f a m arking p ro ­ gram as recom m ended by th e Security C om m ittee o f th e Rare Books and M anuscripts Section using p erm an en t ink is m andated to p ro tect w hat re ­ mains, im plem entation may becom e a long-term endeavor. Adding a mark to a book at th e tim e o f acquisition may be relatively simple. O n th e con­ trary, retrospectively marking a large collection will require staff, planning, tim e, and m oney to be im plem ented in an orderly way. And since the Library o f Congress will soon no longer be able to supply libraries and archives with p erm an en t ink, another m anufacturer m ust be encouraged to p ro ­ duce an equivalent, satisfactory product. Happily, th e RBMS Security C om m ittee is presently at work on this problem . The n eed for b e tte r bibliographic control of rem aining collections, especially any uncataloged backlog, may also becom e param ount. O f course, these same m easures im plem ented before disaster strikes and noted in th e “p rep ared n ess” section o f a disaster plan would serve to be a very p ru d e n t “ounce o f prevention.” O nce bibliographic control is established, a regular b u t random (in o rd er to foil insider theft) inventory program will be possible, again at th e expense o f staff tim e for planning and im plem entation. Increased vigilance has its costs, b u t it pays off w hen a theft is p rev en ted or discov­ e re d early. T hese activities will all affect staff workload. Staff may n e e d a great deal o f encouragem ent to rise to th e occasion. It may even be necessary to redirect staff from o th er norm al routines in an effort to secure th e collections. All o f this is likely to coincide with a tim e w hen staff is already feeling dem oralized by th e disaster th at has occurred. Em otional problem s may surface in workers in­ cluding bereavem ent for w hat is lost, blam e o f self, blam e o f others, anger, resen tm en t at th e slow response or lack o f thoroughness o f adm inistrators or law enforcem ent authorities, guilt, rem orse, depression, or fault finding with the entire recovery effort. Rumors may be ram pant, and th e careers of innocent people may be in jeopardy if insider theft is suspected. These dreadful symptoms are likely to surface w hen any crisis or disaster happens and librarians*and archivists are not im m une. In fact, Dr. Joe Thigpen, a psychologist with G elhausen, R uda and Associates, Inc., Los Angeles, observed and chronicled these symptoms in em ployee b e ­ havior following th e 1987 Los Angeles Public Li­ brary fires.9 W ere a psychologist to take a close look at em ployees o f an institution following a major theft, similar behavior might be discovered and crisis intervention might be an appropriate re ­ sponse.10 Therefore, anything th at can be done to recognize and to deal with these consequences will be helpful. W hat is done im m ediately in response to disas­ ter, if it be in th e direction o f taking positive, helpful action, can set th e recovery process in m otion and encourage healing— slow though th at process may be. Notifying all those who m ust know, taking stock o f all th a t has b een lost and making a record o f the loss, and keeping a chronicle o f th e events and actions— th a t is, following a plan o f action— may add to th e burdens o f an already overworked staff, b u t these activities will prove invaluable in the recovery effort. T he additional workload th at may result to secure th e rem aining collections will be hard at first. But if all this work can be seen as an im portant saving and securing effort, a p re p a re d ­ ness effort, to guard collections, and if that work can be successful, a healthy environm ent can be restored. In addition, it will becom e clear th at in th e thoughtful “doing”— th e acting tow ard recov­ ery and apprehension o f thieves and securing what rem ains th e “taking”— is less likely to occur again. 9Joe Thigpen, “How to C ope with Library Disas­ te rs.” A p ap er p resen ted at IE L D R N , T he Inland E m pire Library D isaster Response Network, D is­ aster Prim er W orkshop, Lom a Linda University, Lom a Linda, California, M arch 21, 1988. 10An inform ative discussion o f th e hum an re ­ sponse to disaster and th e appropriate crisis in ter­ vention to th a t hum an response may be found in Raquel E. C ohen and F. L. A heam Jr., Handbook f o r M ental Health Care o f Disaster Victims (Balti­ more: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980). 9 4 4 1 C&RL News In praise o f collectors T here are two kinds of people in th e world: those who collect things, and those who don’t. T he New York Public Library is a treasure house for those of us in th e form er category, so m uch so th at it has been referred to as the guardian o f A m erica’s cul­ tural heritage. Such foresighted donors as John Jacob Astor, William Augustus Spencer, H enry and A lb e rt B erg , A r th u r S c h o m b u rg , a n d C a rl Pforzheim er helped foster this role by th eir ex­ traordinary gifts. The Library’s exhibition, “In Praise of Collec­ tors: Historic Gifts,” which ran from S eptem ber 28 through N ovem ber 3, featured m ore than 140 drawings, prints, manuscripts, and objects donated or purchased with funds bequeathed by individu­ als. O rganized around the them es of literature, political and cultural history, the art of the book, and the graphic arts, th e exhibition showed how the discrete collections and interests of individuals came together to form cohesive and interrelated collections used by m ore than 1.3 million people each year. T he objects on view range in tim e from a very rare fragm ent o f a 10th-century Arabic m anuscript o f th e Koran to a beautifully bound fine press Koran with painted cover dated 1989 by the contem porary artist Sam Francis. The section on literature features some o f the best-known gems o f English and American litera­ ture with items drawn from the Berg, Pforzheim er, and Arents Collections. Among the highlights are a First Folio (1623) o f William Shakespeare; a legen­ dary rare first edition o f E dgar Allen Poe’s Tamer­ lane (1827); a first edition o f Daniel Deronda (1876) by George Eliot; and th e m anuscript of Virginia W oolf s To the Lighthouse (1925-1929). The way in which holdings originally collected by diverse individuals came to com plem ent one another in the Library is evident in the juxtaposi­ tion o f various items; for example, a m anuscript of Tales o f the Islanders (1829-1830) (acquired in 1940 from W .T.H. Howe by the Berg Collection) w ritten by th e adolescent C harlotte Bronte ad­ joined with another piece o f Bronte juvenalia, The adventures o f Ernest Alem bert (1830), from the Pforzheim er Collection, given to the Library in 1986; and the original m anuscript for The Im por­ tance o f Being Earnest (1894) by Oscar Wilde, drawn from the Arents Collections, shown beside the m anuscript o f The Decay o f Lying (1888) from the Berg Collection. A rare copy of The D eclara­ tion of Independence (1776) in Thomas Jefferson’s own hand will be on view beside the first printed version of the Declaration, known as the D unlap Broadside. Materials drawn from the Library’s perform ing arts collections include a Cecil Beaton w atercolor drawing o f a costum e design for Swan Lake (ca. 1951); a m anuscript o f a poem com posed by th e famous 19th-century English tragedian E d m u n d Kean (1832); and a volume o f sacred music Patrocinium musices (1589), from a m onu­ m ental collection o f the work o f the celebrated Renaissance com poser Orlando di Lasso. Item s drawn from the Schomburg C en ter for Research in Black C ulture include a rare first edition o f A d Catholicum ‚ a Latin epic poem by Juan Latino, an African-born professor of Latin and G reek at the U niversity o f G renada (Spain). O th e r notable materials include a very rare m anuscript (1799) of a military docum ent issued by Toussaint L ’Ouver- ture, th e revolutionary Haitian leader o f the late 1700s, and a pair of E dan Osugbo figures (early 20th century), dramatically sculpted brass castings used as regalia by certain m em bers o f the Yoruba people in Nigeria. T he role books have played throughout history was illum inated in the section “The Art o f the Book,” with materials ranging from the 9th century to th e present day, drawn from th e Rare Books and M anuscripts Division and from th e Spencer Col­ lection, which houses illustrated books, illum inated manuscripts, and books with fine bindings. W orks from the library’s collection o f 19th-cen- tu iy F rench prints, given to th e library by Samuel P. Avery in 1990, com prised the majority o f the visually beautiful materials on view in the graphic arts section. Among the works w ere rare etchings by M anet, including an im pression o f Chat etfleurs (1896) with pen and ink revisions by the artist; (1863), a drypoint by W histler o f one o f his favorite models, Jo; Tigre Royale (1829), one o f Delacroix’s major lithographs; and Hasta La M uerte, Goya’s scathing com m entary on vanity from his Los Ca- prichos (1799), with its dram atic combinations of etching and aquatint. O f particular interest w ere prints shown in multiple states, so that the viewer could trace the artist’s em erging intentions. Also on view was the only etching ever m ade by Van Gogh, Dr. Gachet (1895), drawn from th e Arents Collec­ tion. ■ ■