Rare Book Monthly

Articles - March - 2023 Issue

$55,000 in Rare Books Stolen and Recovered in One Day

Stolen and returned (from Russell Books Facebook page).

Stolen and returned (from Russell Books Facebook page).

Rare Book theft stories rarely end quickly but this one was in and out in one day. Some smart police work and a not too smart thief brought it to a quick conclusion. The books, which the bookstore owner estimated as valued at $55,000, were quickly returned where they belong.

 

On Thursday, February 9, Russell Books of Victoria, on the southern end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, discovered locked cases had been broken and books were missing. Police were contacted and Russell Books posted on their Facebook page, “Hello Friends. We had some unwelcome guests last night who broke into our store and helped themselves to over $55,000 worth of antiquarian books. If you have any information or see our books out on your travels please notify the Victoria police. An investigation is ongoing.” The investigation did not have to go on for long.

 

Officers interviewed the store owners and others in the community and checked out surveillance camera videos. It enabled them to determine that the same person had attempted to break in to some multi-family housing and left behind some of the books. Those books were later gathered up by a resident and turned over to police. Using the information and video footage, they were able to identify a suspect who was arrested. He was still in possession of $22,000 worth of the books. The suspect already had three outstanding arrest warrants for possession of stolen property, mischief under $5,000, and breaking and entering. By that evening, he had been placed in custody.

 

The following day, the bookseller was able to post on their website, “After what must have been a frightening day, Walt Whitman and some of his friends from the 1600s spent the night recuperating at our house. Thank you everyone for the positive thoughts.”

 

The individual books were valued at $400-$10,000. There was still something there that doesn't make much sense. News reports described one as a signed first edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. For $10,000? If so, unless it were in even worse than deplorable condition, the thief should have just purchased it. It would have been as good as stealing. That sounds like a six-digit item.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: The Shem Tov Bible, 1312 | A Masterpiece from the Golden Age of Spain. Sold: 6,960,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Ten Commandments Tablet, 300-800 CE | One of humanity's earliest and most enduring moral codes. Sold: 5,040,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Blake | Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Sold: 4,320,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: The Declaration of Independence | The Holt printing, the only copy in private hands. Sold: 3,360,000 USD
    Sotheby's
    Sell Your Fine Books & Manuscripts
    Sotheby’s: Thomas Taylor | The original cover art for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Sold: 1,920,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: Machiavelli | Il Principe, a previously unrecorded copy of the book where modern political thought began. Sold: 576,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Leonardo da Vinci | Trattato della pittura, ca. 1639, a very fine pre-publication manuscript. Sold: 381,000 GBP
    Sotheby’s: Henri Matisse | Jazz, Paris 1947, the complete portfolio. Sold: 312,000 EUR
  • Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 746. Speed's Dual Atlas of Britain & the World with 96 Maps (1676). Est. $70,000 - $85,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 9. Visscher's Superb Double-Hemisphere World Map with Representations of the Elements (1658). Est. $4,750 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 58. One of the Most Important 16th Century Maps of the New World (1554). Est. $5,000 - $6,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 745. A Complete Example of Ortelius' Atlas of Ancient Geography (1624). Est. $12,000 - $15,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 73. First English Map to Show California as an Island (1625). Est. $16,000 - $19,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 156. Bachmann's Dramatic View of the Mid-Atlantic Region (1861). Est. $1,800 - $2,200
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 741. Early Announcement of Continental Congress' Declaration of Independence (1776). Est. $9,000 - $11,000
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 695. The First Printed Map Devoted to the Pacific (1589). Est. $8,000 - $9,500
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 733. Superb Image of the Presentation of Jesus in Hand Color (1502). Est. $700 - $850
    Old World Auctions (Feb 12):
    Lot 52. Produced by the Psychological Warfare Branch to Encourage Surrender (1945). Est. $200 - $230
  • Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: ALDROVANDI, Ulisse (1522-1605) - [Opera omnia]. Bologna: Bellagamba, Benacci, Bonomi, Tebaldini, Ferroni, 1599-1668. €22.000-€28.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: [CANALETTO] - VISENTINI, Antonio (1688-1782) da Giovanni Antonio CANAL (1697-1768, detto 'Il Canaletto') - Urbis Venetiarum prospectus celebriores. Venezia: Giovanni Battista Pasquale, 1742-51. €7.000-€10.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: LA FONTAINE, Jean de (1621-1695) - Fables Choisies. Parigi: Claude Barbin, 1668. €7.000-€10.000
    Il Ponte, Feb. 25-26: MERCATOR, Rumold (1545-1599) - [I continenti] - Europa; Africa; America Sive India Nova; Asia. Amsterdam: S.d. [ca. 1633]. €2.000-€3.000

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