Theft at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) has a tremendous collection of 12,000 objects which tell the story of Pennsylvania through the civil war. The collection was moved and the catalogue was digitized in 1997. After the collection was moved Artifact Collections Manager, Kristen Froehlich, was reconciling locations for all the objects when she noticed something peculiar. She could not locate four items from the collection. Three swords presented by the citizens of Philadelphia to Civil War General George G. Meade, David Bell Birney, and Andrew A. Humphreys and a 1785 long-rifle were missing. After establishing that these artifacts were no longer in the museum the FBI was contacted by staff members to investigate.

Ms. Froehlich submitted a Notification of Theft form to the FBI on November 13, 1997. This document required her to submit valuable information to the FBI that could be found in the catalogue. For accession number P-4-9, the long-rifle, the form contained the known name of the object, the rifle’s previous owner, the date it was made, a photograph, the manufacturer, a description with measurements, a list of the materials the object is made from, unique decorations, engravings, a condition report and a list of publications mentioning the item. This information was also dispersed to other museums and dealers in the hopes that they would have information regarding the items’ location.

The FBI took this information to one of the largest Civil War weapon shows on the East Coast, the Great Southern Weapons Fair. The agent assigned to the case, Robert K. Whittman, dispersed the photographs and histories of the objects to the various experts and collectors present. It was at this fair that the FBI caught a break in the case. An expert on presentation swords, Bruce Brazelon, recognized at least one of the swords as being part of a group that had been offered for potential sale in 1994. This particular sword had been noted as missing during a previous inventory check. The museum had noted the misplacement of several items over the years, but was unable to prove if they had been stolen or simply misplaced. These items had not been included in the Notification of Theft form, but the list was provided to FBI as additional information. Including this list of missing objects proved to be invaluable in the recovery of the stolen materials. This sword had not been included in the list of thefts, and would not have been recognized by the sword expert if it had not been included in the list of objects with unknown locations. FBI agent Whittman brought information about all of the missing works to the weapon show, not merely the ones thought to be stolen.


Brazelon could not confirm if the items had been sold, but he did know who was trying to make the sale, a Poconos flea market dealer. With this new information in hand the FBI agents contacted the Poconos flea market dealer. The dealer was able to provide the FBI with the name of the person who tried to sell him the swords, George Csizmazia. Csizmazia was an electrical contractor from Rutledge, Pennsylvania, who had been briefly employed by HSP ten years earlier. At first Csizmazia denied any knowledge of the sword and other objects missing from HSP. The FBI had to break down his story, starting with his denial of knowledge of the swords. Eventually Csizmazia admitted the truth and brought the agents to his home where they found the stolen artifacts and approximately 200 of the “missing” artifacts. Csizmazia’s collection was strewn about his home. Objects, including a ring with a lock of George Washington’s hair, cigar holders, and the telescope used by Elisha Kent Kane to locate the Polar Sea were haphazardly placed on coffee tables, shelves, and on the walls. He even admitted to trimming his hedges with a sword from the 1600’s.
At this time Kristen Froehlich and Robert K. Whittman met with the objects and confirmed that the artifacts found in Csizmania’s home were the same pieces that belonged to HSP. They did this by reviewing each piece and comparing it to the photograph HSP had on file and the catalogue information. They had to make sure that each piece matched the museum’s records down to every inscription. This process did two things. First, it proved that the pieces had originated at HSP and the museum would be able to reclaim the objects after the case was closed. Second, it provided the FBI with an exact list of all the items stolen which affected the charges they would place against the suspect.

After further questioning, Csizmazia informed Agent Whittman of how he gained possession of the artifacts. About ten years earlier the subject had met a janitor, Earnest Medford, at HSP while Csizmania had been contracted to do some electrical work. The two men became friends. Medford eventually learned of the other man’s interest in history, particularly the civil war era and military antiques. At one of their meetings Medford presented Csizmania with a gift, a small artifact he had picked up at HSP. After this the security guard continued to “pick up” items for the collector, who paid him a small stipend. Over the years the security guard was paid around $8,000 for the items he stole. It turns out the thief was being severely under paid by his friend. The objects were worth between two and three million dollars. Csizmania and Medford were convicted of theft of culturally significant historical artifacts and were sentenced to spend four years in jail.

Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center

The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center is a small institution connected to the Montclair State University. Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center was founded to honor Yogi Berra and his legendary baseball career. There are few more recognizable names in baseball than Yogi Berra. Born in 1925 in St. Lois, Missouri Yogi always had an affinity for America’s pastime. He became a part of the Yankee franchise in 1942 when they signed him to play with their minor league team, the Newark Bears. It was not until after Yogi returned from serving in the Navy during World War II that the Yankees brought him to play in the majors. Yogi was a flamboyant player, continually talking behind the plate to distract opposing batters and freely swinging his bat were standard parts of his game. Yogi’s active career included fifteen All-Star Star appearances, three time American League Most Valuable Player, played in fourteen World Series including ten wins, and holds multiple World Series records. After a stunning career on the field Yogi moved to the dugout and became the Yankees manager in 1964. Shortly after this Yogi was fired by the Yankees and joined the Mets as a player-coach. This move caused a media frenzy in New York. The Yankees’ star had jumped the fence into the National League, and New Yorkers did not know how to respond. Yogi became the Mets manager in 1972. A year later he brought the last place Mets to National League pennant champions. In 1976, Yogi returned to his old team to be a coach. In 1985 Yogi was fired as manager by George Steinbrenner 16 games into the season. This created a rift between Yogi and the Yankees, which was finally reconciled during a private meeting in 1996 at the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center. In 1986 Yogi became manager of the Houston Astros, where he stayed until he retired in 1992. Yogi was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

It should be no surprise that after such a distinguished career in New York with the Yankees and Mets Yogi Berra has become a beloved icon of the New York city area. It is with respect to this admiration that the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center was founded in 1998. Yogi and the Montclair State University have shared a long history. Yogi has had a residence in Montclair for the past fifty years. In 1996 Montclair State University provided Yogi with an honorary doctorate, a fine achievement for a man who had dropped out of high school to help support his family. In 1998 the University honored Yogi once again by naming their baseball stadium after him. Adjacent to the stadium they founded the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center. After a career in baseball that lasted over forty years, Yogi dedicated his life to the betterment of children through education, a dedication that the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center strives to continue. The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center focuses on providing visitors with an educational and enjoyable experience that provides a “nostalgic return to baseball when it was just a game.” The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center’s primary focus is on educational programming. This is made clear in the museum’s mission “to preserve and promote the values of respect, sportsmanship, social justice and excellence through inclusive, culturally diverse sports-based educational programs and exhibits.”

Yogi Berra’s career centered around the Yankee and Shea Stadiums, two monuments to America’s pastime. After standing over the Bronx for eighty five years Yankee Stadium was closed after the 2008 season. Shea Stadium also closed in 2008 after serving as the home of the Mets for forty four years. These two stadiums are monuments on their own, but because of their close association with Yogi the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center decided to showcase them in the current exhibit Going, Gone, Goodbye. The exhibit stands as a tribute to these two structures through the perspective of Yogi Berra. With a subject like this it would be easy for the exhibit to become stuck in the past, but the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center also conveys the idea that change is an essential part of society, and that New York baseball fans should look forward to the new stadiums.

The Museum Catalogue: An Essential Document

Inventory systems, or catalogues, are essential to the fundamental success of museums. Every museum strives to maintain a complete and accurate catalogue of its collection. This desire is not always achieved as the day to day responsibilities of the registrar detract from time spent on updating the catalogue.

The catalogue acts as an inventory system, providing the museum with a complete list of what it hold in the collection. The lack of a complete catalogue is unfortunate because “in addition to facilitating the improvement of research, documentation, and storage, an ongoing inventory system can be an essential security device.” (Malaro, Marie. A legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections) The catalogue provides a secure source of information on every object held within the museum. This information includes, but is not limited to, the object’s location within the museum and a detailed history and description of the object. This information helps the museum recognize when a theft has occurred and can be used by authorities to locate and recover the stolen objects. An ambiguous description can help authorities locate objects to an extent, but without a fully detailed description the museum may never be able to prove rightful ownership and recover these pieces.

As personnel change, knowledge of objects is lost unless it is recorded in a catalogue. Museums are constantly adding to their collections. Between new additions and changing personnel it becomes difficult to complete all categories within a catalogue for each object.

A typical catalogue will answer the following questions about an object: What type of object is it? What is the object made of? How was it made? How big is it? Does it have any identifying markings or distinguishing features? Does the object have a known title? What is represented? When was it made? Who made it? Who has owned it? The typical catalogue will also have a short description and photograph. When these questions are answered and recorded the security of a collection is improved exponentially.

Sassona Norton at the Morris Museum

The Morris Museum, located in Morristown, NJ, is currently exhibiting a variety of sculpture in their new gallery. The exhibit shows the development of sculpture from ancient Buddhist reliefs to contemporary sculpture. The exhibit opened on November 3, 2008 and will remain on display through May 2009. The exhibit is composed of eleven pieces and features three pieces by artist Sassona Norton.

Sassona Norton is a contemporary sculptor who prefers to work in the traditional process of lost-wax bronze casting, a technique that spawns from the ancient Egyptians who followed the same process, substituting wax for sand. Norton was selected out of thirty artists to construct a public memorial to 9/11 in Norristown, PA. The current exhibit at the Morris Museum is the second time the museum has featured Norton’s work. She was the primary artist in a 2006 exhibit. In the current exhibit she has three pieces, Memories of Sweetness, Unquenchable Thirst, and An Hour Before Dawn. Each piece was given to the museum directly from Norton for the purpose of exhibition.



Two of these works are used to frame the exhibit as the first and last things a visitor encounters. The first, Memories of Sweetness depicts a bald woman puckering her lips as if to kiss while holding out her hands as if she were holding a small animal with one hand and petting it with the other. The artist has chosen to show the woman’s hands and head, leaving the rest to the imagination. Her soft gesture conflicts with the coldness projected from the Cor-ten steel I-beam shaped column upon which it rests. This piece stands facing the entrance greeting each visitor.

The second donated piece faces the exit of the exhibit. This piece, Unquenchable Thirst shows the same female figure, only in this rendition her mouth is open and her hands are cupped as if she was holding water. Here too the artist has chosen to portray the woman’s hands and head on a Cor-ten steel beam. The sculptures share qualities of style, technique, and subject, but the end result is drastically different. Where the first piece is welcoming, reminding visitors of loving grandmothers, the second is harsh and unyielding. Norton accomplishes this with the severity of the gapping mouth.

Both of Norton’s pieces were created using the lost-wax bronze casting technique. Each sculpture is made of parts that give the illusion of the whole. Her use of parts to make a whole has been a major theme throughout her career.

The exhibit greatly benefits from the inclusion of these two pieces. The pieces show how one of the oldest techniques in sculpture is used in the contemporary world. Because of the connection between the old and new worlds of sculpture these works pull together the ancient Buddhist wood carvings with modern works of mix media and abstract thoughts.