Tuesday, March 31, 2009
9,000 books missing from the British Library
The Guardian reports: More than 9000 books, some valued at more than GBP 20,000.00, have been reported missing from the British Library although not all of them are thought to be stolen. Some have been 'mislaid' for over 50 years in the library's over 650 kilometres of shelves!Among the books mislaid or stolen are:
• Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 1876 illustrated edition. Missing since 1976. Valued at GBP 350 by Abe Books.
• Wolfgang Musculus, Of the Lawful and Unlawful Usurie Amongest Christians, 1556. Missing since 2007. British Library valuation GBP 20,000.
• Moses Ben Maimon, Letter on Astrology, 1555. By 12th-century Jewish philosopher and Torah scholar. Missing since 1977. Nothing comparable on market.
• Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891. First edition missing since January 1961. Valued by Bookride at over GBP 1,300.
• Ezra Pound, Canzoni, 1911. First edition of poetry collection, missing since 1999. Copy on Amazon at GBP 425.
The Guardian
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