John Charles Gilkey
Encyclopedia
John Charles Gilkey is a prolific book and document thief
who has stolen approximately US$200,000 worth of rare books and manuscripts. His motives for the thefts were personal: he saw an expansive library as a sign of being upper class.
Gilkey used bad checks and stolen credit card numbers gained through his employment at Saks Fifth Avenue
in San Francisco. Gilkey did not consider that he stole books; instead he would talk about "doing business" with the dealers from whom he stole items. Allison Hoover Bartlett, who wrote The Man Who Loved Books Too Much chronicling Gilkey's thefts and methods, stated that he feels he deserves the books. She also noted that Gilkey would tell her the details of a theft after the statute of limitations on that crime had expired.
After a sting operation
in 2003 orchestrated by Ken Sanders, a rare book dealer in Salt Lake City, Gilkey served 18 months in San Quentin beginning the following year.
He was arrested again on December 15, 2010, in San Francisco for stealing two antique maps.
Document theft
Document theft is the crime of stealing documents of historical, literary, or cultural interest from public or private archives, often for the purpose of sale to private collectors....
who has stolen approximately US$200,000 worth of rare books and manuscripts. His motives for the thefts were personal: he saw an expansive library as a sign of being upper class.
Gilkey used bad checks and stolen credit card numbers gained through his employment at Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
in San Francisco. Gilkey did not consider that he stole books; instead he would talk about "doing business" with the dealers from whom he stole items. Allison Hoover Bartlett, who wrote The Man Who Loved Books Too Much chronicling Gilkey's thefts and methods, stated that he feels he deserves the books. She also noted that Gilkey would tell her the details of a theft after the statute of limitations on that crime had expired.
After a sting operation
Sting operation
In law enforcement, a sting operation is a deceptive operation designed to catch a person committing a crime. A typical sting will have a law-enforcement officer or cooperative member of the public play a role as criminal partner or potential victim and go along with a suspect's actions to gather...
in 2003 orchestrated by Ken Sanders, a rare book dealer in Salt Lake City, Gilkey served 18 months in San Quentin beginning the following year.
He was arrested again on December 15, 2010, in San Francisco for stealing two antique maps.
External links
- Ken Sanders article about Gilkey
- Author's website for The Man Who Loved Books Too Much