LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS TO OFFER ITEMS FROM THE SISTO ESTATE

LESLIE HINDMAN AUCTIONEERS, CHICAGO, RECENTLY ANNOUNCED AN UPCOMING AUCTION FEATURING OVER 75 LOTS OF EARLY ITALIAN AND LATIN LITERATURE FROM THE ANTIQUARIAN BOOK LIBRARY OF JOHN SISTO OF BERWYN, ILLINOIS. THE BOOKS, MAPS AND ENGRAVINGS COMPRISE WHAT REMAINS OF THE OVER 3,500 ITEMS SEIZED BY THE CHICAGO DIVISION OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION IN 2007, OF WHICH 1,600 ITEMS WERE REPATRIATED TO ITALY AFTER BEING DEEMED UNLAWFULLY IMPORTED. THE COLLECTION HAD BEEN BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE FBI BY SISTO'S HEIRS, FOLLOWING HIS DEATH IN 2007. AFTER AN EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF THE MATERIALS BY THE FBI ART CRIME TEAM, THE ITALIAN COMMAND FOR THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE, AND THE ITALIAN MINISTRY FOR CULTURAL ASSETS AND ARCHIVES, WHO IDENTIFIED THE ITEMS AS HAVING COME FROM THE BARI REGION OF ITALY, APPROXIMATELY 1,600 ITEMS WERE RETURNED TO CONFERRING INSTITUTIONS AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS IN THEIR COUNTRY OF ORIGIN. THE ORIGIN AND OWNERSHIP OF THE REMAINING 2,000 RECOVERED ITEMS COULD NOT BE DETERMINED AND, AS SUCH, THEY WERE RETURNED TO THE ESTATE OF JOHN SISTO. THE MAJORITY OF THE ITEMS, WHICH INCLUDE RARE 18th CENTURY SCIENTIFIC AND THEOLOGICAL BOOKS, DICTIONARIES AND MAPS, WILL BE OFFERED IN A FEATURE SESSION OF THE 16.MARCH FINE BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS AUCTION.