eBay sale leads to collectible book seizure
It’s tough doing business on eBay these days. Especially when your $10,000 sale goes south.
Edward Marshall sold a book that had been in his inventory since 1999, only to have it taken by the State Police in Pennsylvania when they showed up to pick up the merchandise. Here’s hoping he has now put them on his “blocked bidder” list.
As reported in the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Marshall listed a prison record book on September 17th, 2008, with an opening bid of $5,000. His record of ownership seems pretty straightforward, “Edward Marshall bought the Eastern State Penitentiary Prison Entry Record Book in 1999 from Freeman’s auction house in Philadelphia for $920. The book lists the 744 convicts incarcerated in the historic prison _ now a museum _ from 1839 to 1850.”
This collectible book was headed for the state archives, with the second highest bidder commenting, “We were going to give it to the state archives,” said Sara Jane Elk, Eastern State’s executive director. She said a member of her staff contacted the archives in Harrisburg and was told the book “was missing from their set of volumes and it was an official state document.”
Good historical material turns up in the oddest places, and what may have been considered trash sometime in the past is now thought valuable, and if the original owner is still around (the state of Pennsylvania survives) they may want it back. As forcefully put by an official at the Pennsylvania state archivist, “once a state record, always a state record.”
The rare book was purchased at auction almost ten years ago. It seems to me that if the state wanted it back for their records they could have purchased it from the dealer, or bid on the auction. It does not appear that they were aware of its existence before being contacted by the party who wished to purchase it for them as a donation. So, someone was willing to pay $10,000 for it and donate it to the archive. Win-win for everyone. The dealer makes a living, the archives receive the book, and the donator gets the tax deduction. Not good enough for the state of Pennsylvania, especially when there are state police at one’s disposal.
When you add a rare book to your collection, it is always wise to inquire of its history; provenance, as they say.
We invite you to visit our own rare book site, www.spwurth.com. We will do all that we can to keep police forces at bay.
