January 7, 2012

Stealing History

There is a new, awful news story in my sidebar. I'm afraid that I am going to have to make "Stealing History" a regular installment on here. First there was E. Forbes Smiley, the thefts from the Wisconsin Historical Society then Lowry, now we have this man pictured at left.

On December 15, this man stole $7,000 worth of Civil War relics from The Battles for Chattanooga Museum at Point Park, Tennessee. This man opened a glass display case and stole a small display frame containing original belt buckles.  

Not much is known about the thief, although the theft was caught on camera. There is a $1,000 reward. You can view a video of the theft here. 

Many museum thefts can be solved because the artifacts taken are generally one of a kind and memorable to people who frequented the museum. The belt buckles stolen here will look little different from other Civil War belt buckles, as they were mass produced. The video is surprisingly clear, hopefully someone will be able to identify the thief before the buckles disappear.

Unfortunately, this will keep happening again and again as museums are underfunded and understaffed. Few museums can afford extra security or to track down missing objects. History pieces are poorly protected and fetch high prices as almost every history lover is also a personal collector.     

4 comments:

  1. The crime in itself notwithstanding, I find it insulting to history (and to the museums that take care of the items) to steal the relics. I hope the belt buckles are found soon and the thief is held accountable...it is beyond a shame for any historical object to be lost.

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  2. Hello, Miss Stephanie. I've been catching up on all your wonderful, informative posts. Your blog is a really great resource for the history buff. And now, you're becoming a regular Miss Marple, you sleuth, you. Hope to catch up with you sometime.

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  3. Hey Jodi, Andy and I will be going away this week but will be back next. We would love to catch up with you guys sometime.

    As a side note, my Grandma is secretly Mrs. Marple. I see her keeping up on all of the neighbors. :)

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