Rare Book Monthly

Articles - August - 2012 Issue

A Bizarre Book Theft with a B.I.G. Inspiration

Biggie's Hypnotize was one of the biggest hits of 1997.

Biggie's Hypnotize was one of the biggest hits of 1997.

One of the more unusual book theft cases occurred this past month in the upscale, coastal Connecticut community of Westport. Two men picked up a selection of books at the local Barnes & Noble, but neglected to make a stop at the checkout register on the way out. One was described as a “playwright,” the other a “producer.” Starving artists, apparently, picking up material for a play they were working on. Perhaps not totally starving, since the getaway car was a Jaguar, but maybe short at the moment of the $868 at which police valued the books.

Among the books were nine sets of Fifty Shades of Grey, it not being entirely obvious why they would want any, let alone nine copies of that. Three copies of a book by music rapper R. Kelly and a copy of Murder Mamas were more logical selections for a playwright working on a play related to the late rap artist, Christopher Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G.

The accused, 40-year-old playwright Alfred Green, and 37-year-old producer Raheim Pope, are obviously not hardened criminals. They fled on foot, and were quickly apprehended by police. The two were booked, with bond set at $5,000 for Pope, $500 for Green. According to the Westport News, Green broke under questioning, and agreed to to tell police where Pope kept the keys to the Jaguar if they reduced his bond to $500. They agreed. Green then told police they had been arrested once before, and he remembered from that time where Pope hid the key – in his rectum. No wonder they were caught. This is not a good place to secret your car key if you want to make a fast getaway.


Now, I certainly wouldn't have wanted the job of securing the key from the suspect. Neither did the Westport police. So, what they did was place a metal detector behind Pope's butt, and when the the device started screeching, Pope gave in. He undertook the job of removing the key himself, though he did not have the good sense of Green. He should have demanded a bail reduction to $500 too before consenting to remove the key. It would have easily been worth the price to the police. The key, apparently wrapped in some sort of tissue, worked fine when inserted where it belonged, the Jaguar's ignition.

The two gentlemen have been working on a play with the title Ready 2 Die. That was the name of an album the late Wallace/B.I.G. recorded in the 1990s. When the news came out, Wallace's estate was quick to say it had nothing to do with the Green-Pope production. It noted that the estate had previously sent cease and desist orders to the two, and that their work was unauthorized by the estate.

For those either too young, or too old, to be familiar with Wallace's work, he was one of the most successful rappers of the 1990s. However, he may well be better remembered for his role in the terrible East Coast-West Coast rap wars of that decade. An attempt was made on the life of fellow rapper Tupac Shakur, and Shakur believed Wallace was behind it. When a second attempt made on Shakur's life in 1996 was successful, his associates believed that Wallace/Notorious B.I.G., or “Biggie” as he was more affectionately known, was responsible. A year later, a car pulled up next to the one in which Wallace was riding, just as had happened to Shakur a year earlier, and with the same outcome. Neither murder has ever been solved.

Tupac Shakur's artistic reputation is generally greater than that of Biggie. Perhaps it is more inspiring to be named for a great, South American Indian revolutionary than for being fat. Both wrote lyrics filled with terrible things, either realistic portrayals of violent life on the street, or gratuitous violence, depending on your point of view. From my limited exposure, I thought Biggie had the greater capacity to be clever, but this is definitely not my bailiwick. I have no plans to see the play when it comes out.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Swann, June 12: Lot 3:Thomas McKenney and James Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 1848-1854. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000. Swann, June 12: Lot 3:Thomas McKenney and James Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 1848-1854. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 3:
    Thomas McKenney and James Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 1848-1854. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 3:
    Thomas McKenney and James Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 1848-1854. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 8:
    Invoice to the Town of Boston for advertising pre-revolutionary content in the Boston Post Boy, manuscript document, Boston, July 1768. Estimate $5,000 to $7,500.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 13:
    Clairac and Nicola, L'Ingenieur de Campagne; or, Field
    Swann, June 12: Lot 81:
    Journals of Major Robert Rogers . . . of the Several Excursions he Made . . . upon the Continent of North America, London, 1765. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 99:
    Photograph albums and papers from the family of W.G. Fargo, photo albums containing 442 photographs, 1865-88. Estimate $3,000 to $4,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 112:
    Isaac Leeser, Discourses on the Jewish Religion, 10 volumes, Philadelphia: Sherman & Co., 1866-1868. Estimate $6,000 to $9,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 176:
    Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Boston, 1845. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 190:
    Thomas Hariot, Admiranda narratio fida tamen, de commodis et incolarum ritibus Virginiae, 1590. Estimate $25,000 to $35,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 200:
    Correspondence of a regimental cavalry commander in Wyoming and Utah, July 1865 to February 1866. Estimate $4,000 to $6,000.
    Swann, June 12: Lot 226:
    Maturino Gilberti, Vocabulario en lengua de Mechuacan / Aqui comienca el vocabulario en la lengua Castellana y Mechuacana, 1559. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.
  • Sotheby'sBibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
5-19 June
Sotheby'sBibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
5-19 June
    Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Bissière, Roger. Cantique à notre frère soleil de saint François. 1954. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. La vie & l’œuvre de Philippe Ignace Semmelweis. 1924. Rare édition originale, avec envoi. Joint : La Quinine en thérapeutique, 1925. 4,000 - 6,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Céline, Louis-Ferdinand. Mort à crédit. 1936. Édition originale. Bel exemplaire sur Hollande. 2,500 - 3,500 EUR
    Sotheby's
    Bibliothèque Jacques Dauchez - Autour de Dubuffet
    5-19 June
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Chillida, Eduardo ─ Emil Cioran. Face aux instants. 1985. Un des 100 exemplaires sur Arches. Eau-forte signée. 600 - 800 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. Ler dla canpane. L’Art Brut, 1948. Édition originale. 3,000 - 5,000 EUR
    Sotheby’s, June 5-19: Dubuffet, Jean. L'Herne Jean Dubuffet. 1973. Un des 100 exemplaires du tirage de luxe avec une sérigraphie originale en couleurs. 1,000 - 1,500 EUR
  • Gros & DelettrezLivres & Manuscrits ArméniensJeudi 12 juin 2025Paris, Francis Gros & DelettrezLivres & Manuscrits ArméniensJeudi 12 juin 2025Paris, Francis
    Gros & Delettrez
    Livres & Manuscrits Arméniens
    Jeudi 12 juin 2025
    Paris, Francis
    Gros & Delettrez
    Livres & Manuscrits Arméniens
    Jeudi 12 juin 2025
    Paris, Francis
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: BIBLE, Venise 1733, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit daté 1606, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, manuscrit début XVIIIe siècle, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, Amsterdam 1664
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: CHARAKNOTS, Amsterdam 1702, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: DICTIONNAIRE arménien, manuscrit XVIIe-XVIIIe siècle.
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: EVANGILE, manuscrit 1735-1737, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LIVRE DE PRIERES, Grégoire de Narek, manuscrit
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: GEOGRAPHIE, Ghoukas INDJIDJIAN, Venise 1802-1806
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: MANUSCRIT THEOLOGIQUE, XVIe-XVIIe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: MASHTOTS, manuscrit XVIIIe-XIXe siècle, reliure arménienne
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: LETTRE ENCYCLIQUE, manuscrit XIXe siècle
    Gros & Delettrez, June 12: NOUVEAU TESTAMENT, Amsterdam 1668, reliure arménienne
  • Rose City Book & Paper FairJune 14-15, 20251000 NE Multnomah, PortlandROSECITYBOOKFAIR.COM Rose City Book & Paper FairJune 14-15, 20251000 NE Multnomah, PortlandROSECITYBOOKFAIR.COM
    Rose City Book & Paper Fair
    June 14-15, 2025
    1000 NE Multnomah, Portland
    ROSECITYBOOKFAIR.COM
    Rose City Book & Paper Fair
    June 14-15, 2025
    1000 NE Multnomah, Portland
    ROSECITYBOOKFAIR.COM

Article Search

Archived Articles