Antique bookseller, archivist charged in $8 million scheme

An archivist and an antique bookseller were charged Friday with stealing millions of dollars’ worth of rare books, illustrations, maps and photographs from a Pennsylvania library over a 20-year period, including Isaac Newton’s “Principia,” considered a watershed of science.

In some cases, the archivist used an X-Acto knife to cut potentially valuable maps and illustrations out of books in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s historical collection, authorities said. They ultimately sold to other collectors famous originals that were hundreds of years old, authorities said.

Researchers found more than 300 items damaged or missing, a loss estimated at $8 million.

Charged were former Carnegie Library archivist Gregory Priore, 61, and bookstore owner John Schulman, 54, with theft, conspiracy, forgery, receiving stolen property and other counts in the disappearance of hundreds of items.

Lawyers for the men did not return messages seeking comment.

In a statement, library officials said they were “deeply disappointed that at the center of this case are two people who had close, long-standing relationships with the library.”

Some in the antique and historical book world had heard about the case in the spring when authorities issued a detailed list of missing items and then when authorities unsealed search warrants three weeks ago.

Ellen Dunlap, president of the American Antiquarian Society, said institutions, booksellers and collectors likely are going through their records to determine whether they bought or resold anything from Schulman’s store, Caliban Book Store.

“I can assure you if anybody bought anything from Caliban, they’re seeing these headlines and saying, ‘Uh oh, I’m looking at my books right now,'” Dunlap said.

The alleged scheme started unraveling last year when appraisers began a routine audit commissioned by the library and discovered that items were missing or damaged since the last audit in 1991.

The library locked down the room, and appraisers quickly began finding missing items for sale online, as well as items that had been sold or advertised by Schulman’s bookstore, a block away from the library.

In June 2017, library officials contacted authorities and fired Priore.

Detectives say efforts to recover the items have netted books, plates and maps estimated at a value of $1.1 million.

Some were found during a search last year of Schulman’s book warehouse, detectives said.

One particularly valuable item allegedly stolen and recovered was Newton’s “Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica,” with an estimated value of $900,000.