Mischief in the British Museum.(Robert Dighton )

ON 28 June 1806, a brief but tantalizing note appeared in The Times announcing that a robbery of a 'curious nature' had occurred in the British Museum. The report went on to say that a considerable number of valuable prints had been stolen, one of which was Rembrandt's Hundred Guilder, a rare impression said to have been given that title because it once sold for that amount. The report referred to unidentified 'pilferers' as responsible for the theft who disposed of the prints by ...