Report: Stolen NYPL Photo of Al Reach Appears on eBay
From SABR member Peter J. Nash at Hauls of Shame on August 30:
A photograph fitting the description of a missing cabinet card of baseball pioneer Al Reach, stolen decades ago from the New York Public Library’s famous A. G. Spalding Collection, appears to have made its way onto eBay.
The rare photo was identified by collector and 19th century photography aficionado, Jimmy Leiderman, of Miami, Florida. While vacationing in Aruba last weekend, Leiderman spotted the eBay offering of the Reach cabinet on his BlackBerry. Said Leiderman, “I’ve followed the investigation into the NYPL thefts pretty closely and when I saw this image, I just knew it might be the missing Reach, it’s quite a rare image.”
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UPDATE (Wed. Aug 31): Since it was revealed in our report yesterday that the Al Reach cabinet being offered on eBay is the missing photo stolen from the New York Public Library, 13 bids have been placed on the photo with eBay seller “earlierera.” Haulsofshame.com has left a voicemail for “earlierera,” but we have not received a response.
UPDATE (Wed. Aug. 31 9:15PM): It appears that the FBI has become involved with the eBay sale of the rare Al Reach cabinet photo from the New York Public Library’s Spalding Collection.
Read the full article here: http://haulsofshame.com/blog/?p=8564
Originally published: September 1, 2011. Last Updated: September 1, 2011.