Book Title: The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime
Author: Miles Harvey
Publisher: Random House, 2002
Review by: Shelly McRae
In December of 1995, a man known as Gilbert Bland was detained at the George Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland.
He was stealing maps, rare maps, maps that had lived in bound atlases for centuries. Gilbert Bland used a razor blade to ruthlessly cut away the pages, sliding the blade so precisely he did not disturb the page beneath the target. He removed these maps to sell them.
This is the incident Miles Harvey chose to introduce readers to his book, “The Island of Lost Maps : A True Story of Cartographic Crime”.
The criminal in this story, Gilbert Bland, is a catalyst for the book, but is not the main character. The character that takes the lead is the map industry itself, which lends itself to rather enjoyable story telling, the histories and legends of old maps in particular.
But the author adds another, more personal, layer; he writes the book as a first person narrative. His intention is to map out Gilbert Bland’s life, but finds that as he works, he attempts to map out his own life as well.
Even after extensive research, there was little about Gilbert Bland that made him, well, interesting. Except that he stole about half a million dollars worth of maps and sold them to some of the most respected names in the trade.
So Miles Harvey immerses himself, as an observer, in the buying and selling of maps, and in the history of cartography. He finds that since humans have been making maps, humans have been stealing maps.
Christopher Columbus used a stolen map to help him gain finance for his famous voyage to the Americas. Ferdinand Magellan is suspected of using a globe or world map purloined from the Portuguese. And many cartographers simply copied from maps that had been copied from other maps, without certainty as to their accuracy.
But while Gilbert Bland was indistinct, his criminal activity had a significant impact on the antique map trade. His ability to obtain rare maps, maps in high demand, meant that these maps would now make it to market, and command high prices.
Bland’s crime spree also enriched another industry; security for libraries and repositories of ancient and antique books and documents became a new market for high end security companies. The libraries Bland had burgled usually had little more than a security guard and perhaps outdoor cameras. The librarians and their colleagues overseeing these victimized collections often didn’t know they had been burgled until they were notified by the authorities.
How could they not know, you ask? Because no one ever checked the old dusty atlases for missing maps.
Miles Harvey takes us back in time, and back again to the present, and even offers a glimpse of the future. While the book details how some of the maps made their way home, many did not. Some are in private collections, others hanging in well-appointed homes and offices, serving as artwork.
As the book nears its end, the author meets with FBI agent Gray Hill. In a conference room, on a large table, resides stacks of maps, all gathered together to form what Agent Hill refers to as The Island of Lost Maps. These maps have yet to be claimed by those from whom they were stolen, have yet to be returned home,
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