The Rocky Mountain Map Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and appreciation of maps and other items of cartographic interest.  The Society was formed in 1991 and is based in Denver, Colorado.

Visit us at www.RMmaps.org/

Tuesday, August 6, 2019 – Dr. Ronald E. Grim

“In the Footsteps of the Crime: Tracking and Recovering Maps Stolen by Forbes Smiley”

5:30 PM at Denver Public Library

5^th Floor, Gates Room

Free and open to the Public

In January 2005, Dr. Grim became the first Curator of Maps at the newly established Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library (BPL). Shortly after, map dealer E. Forbes Smiley was arrested for stealing maps at Yale University. Smiley had also been a frequent visitor to the Boston Public Library’s Rare Book Department, where the oldest maps and atlases were housed. Diligent inventorying efforts revealed that 70 rare maps were missing. Half were recovered, but some treasures appeared to be lost for good. A decade later, however, Dr. Grim found a missing masterpiece by Samuel de Champlain. Dr. Grim will recount this fascinating episode in BPL’s history.

Dr. Grim retired in May 2018 as Curator of Maps for the Norman B. Leventhal Map and Education Center at the Boston Public Library. He assumed this position in 2005 after working 33 years for the Federal government with the cartographic collections at the National Archives and the Library of Congress.