Torn from Their Bindings: A Story of Art, Science, and the Pillaging of American University Libraries

In 1980, an antique print dealer was going broke from competition and lack of supply. Then he discovered all the high-quality antique prints he could ever want--for free--on the shelves of American university libraries.

Torn from Their Bindings tells the story of Robert Kindred's brazen theft of irreplaceable antique illustrations and maps from academic libraries across the country--a crime spree that left the irredeemable wreck of countless rare books in its wake. Travis McDade's account of Kindred's pillaging and the paper trail that led to his capture unfolds with the drama of a true crime page-turner--whose pages are replete with the particulars of archival treasures, library science, print preservation, and the history bound up in the cultural heritage plundered by Kindred. Along the way we observe the nature and methods of the book thief, defacer of priceless volumes and purveyor of purloined pages, and acquire a wealth of knowledge about the antique prints he favored.

Told by an author devoted to the preservation of books, the story is propelled by an informed curiosity and just outrage from its suspenseful opening to its ironic conclusion--the ultimate fate of Kindred's spoils.

Author: Travis McDade
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Published: 05/30/2018
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.15lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.30w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780700626366

Review Citation(s):
Choice 12/01/2018

About the Author
McDade, Travis: - Travis McDade is curator of law rare books at the University of Illinois College of Law. A leading expert on crimes against rare books, maps, documents, and other printed cultural heritage resources, he is the author of three previous books on the subject: Disappearing Ink: The Insider, the FBI, and the Looting of the Kenyon College Library; Thieves of Book Row: New York's Most Notorious Rare Book Ring and the Man Who Stopped It; and The Book Thief: The True Crimes of Daniel Spiegelman.