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11 J. Art Crime 35 (2014)
It's beyond My Control: A Historical and Psychiatric Investigation into the Claim of Bibliomania

handle is hein.journals/jartcrim11 and id is 40 raw text is: It's Beyond My Control A Historical and Psychiatric Investigation into the Claim of Bibliomania Anna M. C. Knuttson Abstract B ook theft has been an on-going problem ever since books first appeared. The list of prominent However, whilst book thieves have occurred in the popular literature from time to time an academic overview of the phenomenon has been remarkably absent. The fact that they are rarely caught might have contributed to their elusive character. What makes them particularly interesting is that they, as opposed to most other art criminals, are nearly all collectors themselves. This article considers why book thieves willingly risk their own security and reputation to acquire books and exactly how far compulsive collecting might reach into the dark crevasses of the mind. This article strives to give a brief historical overview of the argument that bibliomania is a diagnosable condition. Having established the historic link between bibliomania and the psychiatric discipline article analyses past and current psychoanalyst ideas on bibliomania in order to explore what bibliomania is and how it works. Whilst by the mid twentieth century the scientific concern with bibliomania had all but disappeared this article explores what recent developments in neuroscience might reveal about bibliomania and whether this could affect the treatment and punishment of book thieves. Keywords: Bibliomania, Biblioklepts, Monomania, Kleptomania, Impulse Control Disorder

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