Man quizzed over stolen literary gem
Jul 12 2008 by Paul Loraine, The Journal
A MAN was last night being questioned by police after walking into a US library with a first folio edition of Shakespeare’s works – valued by police at £15m – stolen 10 years ago from a North library.
Book-dealer Raymond Scott, 51, was arrested at an address in Wigeon Close in Washington, Tyne and Wear, after a tip-off by the British Embassy in the USA two weeks ago.
The rare first folio edition, printed in 1623, was among a number of books and manuscripts taken from the Durham University Library in December 1998.
Police said the Shakespeare text alone would have a market value of at least £15m.
They said Mr Scott had taken the manuscript to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC on June 16 to verify it was genuine, claiming to be an international businessman who had acquired the volume in Cuba.
He agreed to leave it with librarians and even paid for an independent appraiser, whose research revealed it to have been stolen.
Police said a worldwide manhunt involving the Durham force and America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation led to a raid on the North East property on Thursday night.
Mr Scott, who lives with his elderly mother, was taken to Durham City police station where he was still being questioned last night.
Officers continued to remove bags and boxes from his home yesterday and seized his Ferrari car.
Det Supt Andy Reddick, who is co-ordinating the inquiry, said the Shakespeare text remains in the safe care of the Washington DC library.
Speaking yesterday, he added: “A search of the house at Washington began yesterday and that will continue today.”
Several other rare literary treasures were stolen in the raid on the Palace Green Library. Two hand-written manuscripts from the late 14th or early 15th century were taken, one bearing an English translation of the New Testament and the other containing a fragment of a poem by Chaucer.
Books stolen included a first edition of Beowulf and two editions by the 10th century scholar Aelfric, one printed in 1566 and the other in 1709.
They were among more than 50 works on public display in two rooms of the library charting the progress of English literature from the Middle Ages to the 20th century.
A Durham Police spokesman said the works were described at the time as “a unique and irreplaceable part of the region’s heritage” and would be virtually impossible to sell to legitimate buyers.
The spokesman later confirmed that other old books were discovered by officers at the property in Tyne and Wear.
He said: “They have found a large number of old books and documents which have been collected and taken to a storage area at police headquarters.
“It will be inspected by experts to see what they have got.”
He said there was no suggestion that the house contained the other seven books and manuscripts taken from the library.
At the time the folio was stolen, experts described it as “the most important printed book in the English language”.
It was one of the first collected editions of Shakespeare’s plays printed and only between 200 and 300 copies are thought to have survived around the world.
Arrest leaves neighbours bemused
NEIGHBOURS on the quiet Washington street where the arrest took place spoke of their shock yesterday.
As police officers continued to move boxes and bags into vans outside the house, people congregated outside their homes as details of the circumstances surrounding the arrest filtered through.
Those living nearby yesterday spoke of Mr Scott’s love of sports cars.
George Atkinson, 59, a former joiner, said: “He lives with his mum Hannah, who is in her eighties.
“His dad, who died a few years ago, ran a bookshop with Raymond .
“After his dad passed away Raymond carried on the business working from home.
“As far as I knew he sold expensive books over the internet. I can’t believe this has happened.”
He said the police had brought “boxes and bags upon boxes and bags” out of the house as neighbours peered from their windows. Meanwhile, Mick Kennedy, 46, who lives next door to Mr Scott and his mother said the events were a big surprise.
“This is like something you see on TV and you don’t expect it to happen in your street,” he said.
“After the police arrested him you could hear banging around next door as they got stuff together.
“They were there all night and started again at nine this morning. I can’t believe something like this has happened round here.
“He’s a character. He used to wear Marigolds and a multi-coloured dressing gown with brown leather shoes in the street when he went to clean his car.”
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said Mr Scott had been on recent holidays to Cuba and Monte Carlo.
Relief at discovery of folio so significant for scholarship
LITERATURE experts last night expressed their delight at the recovery of the “Durham First Folio”.
Khristian Jensen, head of British Printed Collections at the British Library, explained the enormous significance of the manuscript.
He said: “It was published about seven years after Shakespeare’s death but, nevertheless, provides the first evidence of a number of his plays.
“There are 36 plays in it altogether and only 18 of them had been published before that.
“It’s the first evidence of some of the important plays like Macbeth, The Tempest and Measure for Measure.
“Early books weren’t produced like books are produced today. They actually corrected the text as they went along so all the copies of the edition don’t contain exactly the same text.
“For scholars it’s important to see the variations, so each individual copy can be very important.
“There are books that are rarer in terms of the number in existence but, because Shakespeare is so important, it is one of the ways we can get close to him and each copy is important.”
Meanwhile, Garland Scott, head of external relations at Washington DC’s Folger Shakespeare Library, said they were delighted to have helped recover the text.
She said: “On June 16, a man brought a book to us and asked us to determine what it was. As the world's largest Shakespeare collection and one of the world's experts, books are brought to us from time to time but this one immediately raised questions.
“Our staff, working with independent experts, determined that the book was the missing Durham First Folio. It was then turned over to the FBI, although the Folger retained the copy because of our climate-controlled rare book vaults made for safer keeping of the book.
“We’re delighted to have helped.
“A missing book is found – perhaps the most important copy of the First Folio that's been unaccounted for – and is in the process of going home now.
“That's great news for Shakespeare lovers and libraries and people who love rare books.”
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