Four stolen rare books returned to St. Petersburg libraries
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Four rare books stolen from Russian libraries were returned Monday after authorities detained three people in the thefts, police said. The suspects were allegedly involved in the theft of at least 20 books from major libraries in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Volga River cities of Saratov and Kazan over the past three years. A copy of Newton's "Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy" published in London in 1687 and a 1913 illustrated edition of poems by Russian futurist Konstantin Bolshakov 'Le Futur' were stolen from the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg on November 6. On the same day, an 1813 edition of English philosopher Robert Owen's 'New View of Society' was taken from the reading room of the Russian Academy of Sciences Library, also in St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg State University library later reported the disappearance of another copy of Newton's "Mathematical Principles." The four books are estimated to be worth a total of US$85,000, police said. The suspects — a 29-year-old woman who heads a construction firm, a 33-year-old unemployed man and a 22-year-old man who works for the prison system, are all from Saratov, the St. Petersburg police press service said.
All three have university degrees in philology or history.
As a result of the police operation, the four books stolen from St. Petersburg were returned to the libraries Monday, the press service said. Most of the books stolen from other libraries were also recovered, it said. In the wake of the thefts, the Russian National Library plans to strengthen security measures, said Yelena Nebogatikova, a deputy director of the library. The library has no alarms. http://story.news.yahoo.com/
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Police Detain Two More In Rare-Book Theft Case
By Irina Titova STAFF WRITER St. Petersburg police force said Monday that it had detained three people suspected of stealing three rare and valuable editions from leading St. Petersburg libraries. The criminal group is suspected of being behind the theft of at least 20 such books from major libraries in Moscow, Saratov, Kazan and St. Petersburg over the last three years. The police said that the three were responsible for the disappearance of a copy of Isaac Newton's "Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica" ("Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy"), published in London in 1687, and an illustrated 1913 edition of poems by Russian futurist Konstantin Bolshakov titled "Le Futur" ("The Future") from the Russian National Library on Nov. 6. On the same day, an 1813 edition of English philosopher Robert Owen's "A New View of Society" was taken from the reading room of the Russian Academy of Science Library, also in St. Petersburg. The suspects, who all live in the Central Russian city of Saratov, were named as 29-year-old Svetlana Danilina, the head of the Electropribor construction bureau in the city; 33-year-old Dmitry Zinchenko, who is unemployed; and 22-year-old Pavel Prokofyev, an employee at a prison ther. All three hold university degrees in either philology or history. Zinchenko, who police say was the leader of the group, graduated in history. During their investigation, the police found a database of files for various valuable book sales on his computer. Danilina was detained on a train on her way from St. Petersburg to Astrakhan last Tuesday, while the other two were detained in Saratov. According to the police press service, Zinchenko, who is a veteran of Russia's special forces, attempted to commit suicide in the course of his arrest. As a result of the police operation, all editions stolen from St. Petersburg were returned to the local libraries on Monday. With the exception of the volumes stolen in Kazan, the books stolen from the libraries in the other cities were also recovered. The estimated value of the four editions stolen from the St. Petersburg libraries alone was $85,000. A commission from the Culture Ministry that was dispatched to the Russian National Library after the thefts were reported has evaluated the security measures at the institution and has submitted a list of recommendations on tightening the situation at the library, Yelena Nebogatikova, the deputy head of the library, said on Monday. At present, security measures at the library are relatively lax, with patrons required to have a control slip that they receive on entering the facility stamped by a person on duty in the department from which they receive materials upon their return. A police officer at the library exit, who is responsible for checking the slips, may also require those leaving the library to submit to a search of any bags they are carrying. There are no electronic or other technical security systems in place. The three suspects were arrested on charges under Article 164, Part 1, of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers the theft of articles of special cultural value. Danilina and Zinchenko have been brought back to St. Petersburg while the investigation continues. Prokofyev remains in Saratov. http://www.sptimes.ru/
ARTS MINISTER PLACES TEMPORARY EXPORT BAR ON A ROMAN MARBLE WELLHEAD
Minister of State for the Arts Tessa Blackstone has placed a temporary bar on the export of a puteal (wellhead) carved during the first century BC. This will provide a last chance to raise the money to keep the puteal in the United Kingdom. The Minister’s ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art that the export decision be deferred. This reflects the outstanding significance of the puteal for the study of Archaistic iconography and its association with classical collections in Britain at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The deferral will enable purchase offers to be made at the following agreed fair market price: A puteal, first-century BC, deferred at the recommended price of just over £294,000 (including VAT) until after 18 January 2003. The deferral period could be extended until after 18 April 2003 if there is a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase. Anyone interested in making an offer to purchase the puteal should contact the owner’s agent through:
The Secretary, The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art, Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2-4 Cockspur Street, London SW1Y 5DH From: ART LAW CENTRE To: securma@xs4all.nl
Subject: Conference in London
The Institute of Art and Law (Leicester) and the Art-Law Centre (Geneva) are organising in a joint effort to demonstrate their interest for such moves a seminar, which will be held in London on the 22nd of November from 10am till 5pm on the subject of the: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNESCO 1970 CONVENTION. "In July 2002 the UK Government acceded to the 1970 Convention; Japan has recently ratified the Convention and Switzerland is moving towards possible ratification. The total number of States Party will soon reach 100 and the purpose of this seminar is to look at the differing ways in which the Convention may be implemented, with particular reference to the art-market States, including the UK, Switzerland and the USA". For more information please visit the web site: www.ial.uk.com
Gaia R. Regazzoni Administratrice du Centre du Droit de l'Art (Art-Law Centre) 120 b rue de Lausanne 1202 Genève (Switzerland) Tel: + 41 22 731 11 61 Fax: + 41 22 731 12 61 E-mail: info@art-law.org Internet: www.art-law.org