The recent events at the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania highlight the challenges of any public or private institution that houses manuscripts. The desire to allow patrons to see, touch, and read manuscripts, letters, books, maps and other parts of the collection is at the core of a library’s mission. Yet, there are always those who try to cheat the system and take the items for their own private gain.

Manuscript Society member David Lowenherz, founder and owner of Lion Heart Autographs,  writes of his own experience with Lee Israel and the facts behind the forgeries and theft of letters that is now being portrayed in the new film, Can You Ever Forgive Me?. As David notes, “… the facts are, in some ways, more compelling and devastating than what the film shows.” .For the complete story click: https://reelchicago.com/article/can-ever-forgive-unforged-truth/