Criminal

An illustration of a man inside of a triangle, perched atop a pile of oversized, tied-up books, reading a book, legs crossed.

Ex Libris

Episode #22

2015-06-26 01:32:28

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Hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of rare books have been disappearing across America since the late 90s, and haven’t resurfaced in the marketplace. They’ve just vanished, never to be seen again. But unlike most thieves, this thief is motivated by something more abstract and romantic than money, which makes him extremely difficult to catch.

Today, we have the story of John Charles Gilkey.

Check out the book dealers in this story: John Crichton at The Brick Row Book Shop, Ken Sanders of Ken Sanders Rare Books, and Garrett Scott’s Bibliophagist. Learn more about Allison Hoover Bartlett’s book, The Man Who Loved Books Too Much.