£l,000 "REWARD" FOR A THIEF.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3463, 31 March 1930, Page 2

£l,ooo "REWARD" FOR A THIEF.

It is nearly 30 years since Gainsborough’s famous portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire —the one with the hat—came back to England after being stolen and lost for a quarter of'a century. , The stoyy of its recovery is told by llene Cassellari, who for 20 years was one of-the leading French detectives, in a book of reminiscences, “Dramas of French Crime,’’ which was published recently. M. Cassellari’s mother was English, and as he spoke English well he was often over in London taking part in the tracking of criminals who had escaped from France or were conducting operations from an English base. Thus it happened that th e late Mr Frank Forest, of Scotland Yard, introduced him to Mr William Pinkerton, of “Pinkerton’s detectives," in America, who told him about being called in by Scotland Yard to find the “Duchess.” The portrait was painted ip/ 1783. It was sold, about 1806, for £SO. In 1876 Messrs Agnew bought it at Christie’s for £10,505. All London Hocked to see it for three weeks, aud then, one morning, it was gone—cut out of the frame at Messrs Agnew’s gallery. A reward of £IOOO was offered in vain. Mr Pinkerton told M. Cassellari—many years after th e robbery—that his inquiries in America had established the fact that the “Duchess was stolen by Jack Phillips, an English burglar, acting under the instructions of Adam Worth, but Pinkerton could find no trace of the picture. Adam Worth at one time, it is said, lived in expensively furnished rooms in Piccadilly, where “he entex-tained millionaires, actresses, anti well known sporting people.” He passed as “Harry Raymond,” but was known in America as “Little Aclam.” Why lie went to the trouble of having the “duchess” stolen has never been explained. It was even less negotiable than St Paul’s Cathedral, because St Paul’s might b e broken up and sold as material, hut a broken up picture was worthless, and the “Duchess” could not be sold whole. Years passed, and at last Little Adam became an 4 old man, hard up. Pinkerton, talking to Pat Sheedy, who brought out John L. Sullivan,, the boxer, said : “Pat, 1 hear Little Adam is on his last legs. 1 want you to go to him and ask him to let you know what ho has done with the ‘Duchess'.” Pinkerton promised that Little Adam shod Id have £IOOO if he handed the picture over. Sheedy cam e from America to London, found Little Adam a wreck, and took him for a Mediterranean trip. Cassellari received a message asking him to meet them at Marseilles. Scotland Yard promised that there slioqld be no prosecution, and tliat Pinkertons should hand Little Adam £I,OOO. Mr Moreland Agnew sailed for New York, and there in March 1901, he was met by the Pinkertons and taken to Chicago. Little Adam, with Pat Sheedy, met them and handed over the picture. The £I,OOO was handed to Pat Sheedy. He handed it to Little Adam. So the “Duchess’ came back to the galleries from which it had been stolen in 1876, and Mr Agnew sold it a little later, to Mr Pierpont Morgan for £25,000. It Had been bidden in furniture stores in Pliiladclpbina, New York, and Brooklyn all those years.