5 ms·

Seems kind of contradictory. FTA — "These books are extremely valuable, but more importantly they are irreplaceable and are of great importance to internation

Seems kind of contradictory. FTA — "These books are extremely valuable, but more importantly they are irreplaceable and are of great importance to international cultural heritage," said Det Insp Andy Durham, from the Metropolitan police's Specialist Crime South command. The works were being stored in a warehouse ahead of being transported to a specialist book auction in Las Vegas, in the US, when they were stolen

jonny_eh 6y ago
ya, but it's not like the thieves are able to do an auction of their own.
- thaumasiotes 6y ago
  Why not?
  - tartoran 6y ago
    Books are recorded as stolen, anyone who’d buy them would be liable to have them seized by authorities at some point when they try to resel them. As someone mentions above, if they were gold the value would still be there by melting them
    - thaumasiotes 6y ago
      > As someone mentions above, if they were gold the value would still be there by melting them Only if they were just a bunch of gold bars when you stole them. If you stole, say, the Swedish crown jewels ( https://www.thelocal.se/20190211/police-confirm-swedens-stolen-crown-jewels-found-strangnas-royal https://www.thelocal.se/20190211/police-confirm-swedens-stol... ), you could pop off all the jewels and melt down the gold for its weight value, but that would be losing almost 100% of the value. The thieves can't auction off their books by listing them at Christie's. But that's not the same claim as "the thieves can't auction off their books".
  - bluGill 6y ago
    Because a large part of the value is to show it off to your friends. "Look I have rare X and you don't". If it is stole though the people are are most likely to be impressed are also the most likely to know it is stolen (they might even check). Many will turn you in because they hope that it ends up in auction in a few years and then they can buy it for their own collection to show off. It might even be more valuable to then because they can say they found it stolen, and then bought it from the rightful owner which adds to the story.
crusty 6y ago
I also came to note the ridiculousness as well, castigating thieves for stealing and literally burying something of great value to the world and then, in the very next breath, casually allude to their accepted fate, being sold off to the mega-rich and hidden away for maybe one person to infrequently gaze at through glass or, more likely, to sit in a dark climate controlled vault waiting to be sold on to the next collector for the same fate.
- CaptArmchair 6y ago
  I think this deserves a more nuanced take. Collectors don't wholly stow their collections away for nobody to see. Many of them actively cooperate with heritage institutions and loaning out for temporary or even permanent exhibitions. Why? First, because doing so is an expression of power and status. Second, because heritage institutions are scientific authorities. Having your works on displays asserts their authenticity, and thereby their value. Barring a handful of well known names, heritage institutions, publicly funded smaller organizations in particular, have always struggled to acquire enough resources to stay operational. Sponsoring, private donations and fundraising events are indispensable. There's a good reason why the Met Gala is a thing. And even the Met struggles financially. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art#Finances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art#Fin... Your comment reflects on the fact that heritage objects are hidden from the public's view when they end up in a private collection. Now, what's on public display in a museum doesn't constitute the entire collection either. It's a selection made by curators and scientists based on historical and cultural significance. The Met collection counts 2 million objects, for instance. Some objects are only put on display once every few decades in a temporary exhibition because their fragility and their intrinsic value require expensive logistics, insurances,... Finally, consider how galleries and museums acquire objects and ammend their collections. It doesn't happen by accident. Either it happens because a private collector bequeaths their own collection to a public institution; or it's because public institutions also participate in auctions. I understand the point you're trying to make. There are, indeed, private collectors who simply acquire objects at auctions which then disappear from the public's view for many decades. That's absolutely not a new thing
  - 6y ago

jonny_eh 6y ago

ya, but it's not like the thieves are able to do an auction of their own.

thaumasiotes 6y ago
Why not?
- tartoran 6y ago
  Books are recorded as stolen, anyone who’d buy them would be liable to have them seized by authorities at some point when they try to resel them. As someone mentions above, if they were gold the value would still be there by melting them
  - thaumasiotes 6y ago
    > As someone mentions above, if they were gold the value would still be there by melting them Only if they were just a bunch of gold bars when you stole them. If you stole, say, the Swedish crown jewels ( https://www.thelocal.se/20190211/police-confirm-swedens-stolen-crown-jewels-found-strangnas-royal https://www.thelocal.se/20190211/police-confirm-swedens-stol... ), you could pop off all the jewels and melt down the gold for its weight value, but that would be losing almost 100% of the value. The thieves can't auction off their books by listing them at Christie's. But that's not the same claim as "the thieves can't auction off their books".
- bluGill 6y ago
  Because a large part of the value is to show it off to your friends. "Look I have rare X and you don't". If it is stole though the people are are most likely to be impressed are also the most likely to know it is stolen (they might even check). Many will turn you in because they hope that it ends up in auction in a few years and then they can buy it for their own collection to show off. It might even be more valuable to then because they can say they found it stolen, and then bought it from the rightful owner which adds to the story.

crusty 6y ago

I also came to note the ridiculousness as well, castigating thieves for stealing and literally burying something of great value to the world and then, in the very next breath, casually allude to their accepted fate, being sold off to the mega-rich and hidden away for maybe one person to infrequently gaze at through glass or, more likely, to sit in a dark climate controlled vault waiting to be sold on to the next collector for the same fate.

CaptArmchair 6y ago
I think this deserves a more nuanced take. Collectors don't wholly stow their collections away for nobody to see. Many of them actively cooperate with heritage institutions and loaning out for temporary or even permanent exhibitions. Why? First, because doing so is an expression of power and status. Second, because heritage institutions are scientific authorities. Having your works on displays asserts their authenticity, and thereby their value. Barring a handful of well known names, heritage institutions, publicly funded smaller organizations in particular, have always struggled to acquire enough resources to stay operational. Sponsoring, private donations and fundraising events are indispensable. There's a good reason why the Met Gala is a thing. And even the Met struggles financially. [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art#Finances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art#Fin... Your comment reflects on the fact that heritage objects are hidden from the public's view when they end up in a private collection. Now, what's on public display in a museum doesn't constitute the entire collection either. It's a selection made by curators and scientists based on historical and cultural significance. The Met collection counts 2 million objects, for instance. Some objects are only put on display once every few decades in a temporary exhibition because their fragility and their intrinsic value require expensive logistics, insurances,... Finally, consider how galleries and museums acquire objects and ammend their collections. It doesn't happen by accident. Either it happens because a private collector bequeaths their own collection to a public institution; or it's because public institutions also participate in auctions. I understand the point you're trying to make. There are, indeed, private collectors who simply acquire objects at auctions which then disappear from the public's view for many decades. That's absolutely not a new thing
- 6y ago