Our gipsies in city, tent, and van, containing an account of their origin and strange life, fortune-telling practices

One of the books in the libraries’ founding collections in the 19^th century, this volume was part of local bookseller and bibliophile Robert Clarke’s private library purchased by William A. Procter and donated to the University of Cincinnati. Clarke’s collection is rich in Americana, travel & exploration, geography, and history. However it is the recent history of this particular book that signifies its importance. Before the UC libraries had an established Archives & Rare Books Library, a book thief named Stephen Blumberg hit this university and several others in the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, stealing hundreds of books across the country. Eventually he was caught and convicted, and UC’s books were recovered. But Blumberg had mutilated the books, razor-blading out UC’s identifying marks. We have reconstituted the Clarke collection of books and while this book needs some preservation work, it is important to maintain the damaged parts because bibliographically it is more important now – Stephen Blumberg is acknowledged as one of the greatest book thieves in history, so the books he stole are now educational tools for cultural history and library heritage.

Condition and treatment: This is a half red leather 19^th century binding with blue marbled paper boards. The leather is worn, the lower endcap is missing, and the inner hinges of the cover are broken. The title page and page 19 contain areas of intentional paper loss from where famed book thief Stephen Blumburg cut out identifying library stamp labels. Conservation staff will repair damage to the binding from wear, but will preserve intentional damage by Blumburg as part of the object’s history. The binding will be stored in a cloth covered clamshell with an integrated cradle.