Freelance Historian » stolen http://www.freelancehistorian.com The World of Historical Manuscripts and Ephemera Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:48:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Antebellum Silver Stolen from Historic NC Plantation http://www.freelancehistorian.com/2011/10/antebellum-silver-stolen-from-historic-nc-plantation/ http://www.freelancehistorian.com/2011/10/antebellum-silver-stolen-from-historic-nc-plantation/#comments Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:41:05 +0000 Steven http://www.freelancehistorian.com/?p=619 Authorities report that thieves have broken into historic Cooleemee Plantation in Mocksville, NC,  stealing antebellum silver sets, antique jewelry from several generations of the Hairston family (owners of the plantation) and other valuables. Antique dealers are asked to be on the lookout for these items, many bearing the monogram of “LPH” or “D” in calligraphic script.

Legend has it that the slaves spirited away the family silver and buried it as Union forces marched into the area, and returned it to the family once the danger was past.

]]> http://www.freelancehistorian.com/2011/10/antebellum-silver-stolen-from-historic-nc-plantation/feed/ 0 Former U of Hawaii Student Steals 200 Rare Books http://www.freelancehistorian.com/2011/07/former-u-of-hawaii-student-steals-200-rare-books/ http://www.freelancehistorian.com/2011/07/former-u-of-hawaii-student-steals-200-rare-books/#comments Fri, 01 Jul 2011 21:04:48 +0000 Steven http://www.freelancehistorian.com/?p=136 An unnamed dropout from the University of Hawaii has been arrested on charges of stealing nearly 200 rare books from the Hamilton Library on the school’s Manoa campus. Police seized 30 boxes of books that had been packaged to be shipped away.

Authorities were alerted when a rare book dealer in California contacted the University when approached by someone wanting to sell him six books stamped with the UH logo, valued at over $3000. School officials estimate the replacement value of the missing books at between $40,000 and $100,000. All but one book have been recovered.

KITV Channel 4 Report

]]> http://www.freelancehistorian.com/2011/07/former-u-of-hawaii-student-steals-200-rare-books/feed/ 0 FBI Still Searching for Owners of Stolen Art Treasures http://www.freelancehistorian.com/2008/08/fbi-still-searching-of-owners-of-stolen-art-treasures/ http://www.freelancehistorian.com/2008/08/fbi-still-searching-of-owners-of-stolen-art-treasures/#comments Mon, 01 Sep 2008 04:21:49 +0000 Steven http://www.freelancehistorian.com/?p=5 When William Kingsland died in New York City in 2006, he left no will, no heirs, but his one-bedroom apartment was crammed from floor to ceiling with stacks of paintings and artworks.  Since he died with no heirs, the state of New York took possession of the trove, and hired Christies and Stair Galleries to auction them off.  During the research phase, it was discovered that many of the over 300 paintings were stolen- including two Picasso sketches that were stolen by the moving company hired to transfer the paintings from Kingsland’s apartment!

The FBI has decided that the best course of action, due to the time-consuming nature of tracking provenance of artwork, is to put up an online gallery where the public can view the paintings and help identify their history, or recognize one as stolen. The paintings can be seen on the FBI website at http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/arttheft/northamerica/us/kingsland/kingsland.htm

If you recognize any of these paintings, you can contact Special Agent Jim Wynne in the New York City office at (718) 286-7302 or at james.wynne@ic.fbi.gov .

(article from Antiques & The Arts Weekly )

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