Abstract
It is almost like the introduction of what promises to be a thrilling crime novel. Unfortunately, the outcome is extremely deplorable. In February 2001 a crudely drawn copy of a map was found on one of the reading room tables at the Royal Library in The Hague. They chose to send it to their colleagues in Copenhagen, who immediately passed it on to us in Stockholm. When we received the faxed map, we noticed that our Library was marked on the map in relation to Döbelnsgatan (one of the smallest streets in Stockholm!) and Åhlens, the large department store located in the centre of the city. The reason why Döbelnsgatan, in particular, had been marked on would come to light later on. This took place on 14 February, and it led to one of the most depressing incidents I have had the misfortune to experience during my time as National Librarian.
Highlights
Up until we had naively assumed that the Royal Library had somehow been exempt from the series of thefts that, by all accounts, had swept across European national libraries
When we received the faxed map, we noticed that our Library was marked on the map in relation to Döbelnsgatan and Åhlens, the large department store located in the centre of the city
The perpetrator went by the name of Nelson Perry, and there were photographs of him
Summary
It is almost like the introduction of what promises to be a thrilling crime novel. the outcome is extremely deplorable. In February 2001 a crudely drawn copy of a map was found on one of the reading room tables at the Royal Library in The Hague They chose to send it to their colleagues in Copenhagen, who immediately passed it on to us in Stockholm. It appeared that at least six different atlases, of which the earliest was an Ortelius dated 1579, and the most recent a 1633 Mercator, had had material removed from them Confronted with this new information, the staff reconstructed from reader application slips that a certain Nelson Perry had visited the Library on numerous occasions during the autumn of 2000 and in January 2001. That crudely drawn map sent to us from the Royal Library in The Hague, which contained the address Döbelnsgatan, was explained This was, no doubt, the address Bellwood used when he stayed in Stockholm. These maps will in due course be returned to their rightful location
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