UPDATE: This item was recovered 5/18/20. The following item was reported missing and last seen at the ABAA Fair in Pasadena this past February: Nightingale, Florence. Notes on Nursing: What It Is, and What It Is Not. London: Harrison, . First edition, early issue. 79pp. Octavo in flexible black textured cloth with gilt title on front wrap. Rebacked, with original wraps. Light wear to extremities; ... [more]

The following item has been reported missing from California, last seen on July 31, 2015. Bohemian Club Ledger. Manuscript ledger of the Bohemian Club from its founding in 1872 to 1899, roughly three hundred pages of manuscript minutes and records along with relevant printed material from the period. The notes include mention of founder Ambrose G. Bierce, Henry George, Ina Coolbrith, Mark Twain an... [more]

We have received a report that the items pictured below were lost in transit in July 2017. They were originally purchased at auction and listed under the lot "'Shabbat Shuva' sermon in the handwriting of the Chatem Sofer." If you have any information on these items, please contact ABAA Headquarters at hq@abaa.org or (212) 944-8291. First Item: Second Item: [more]

A copy of The Maltese Falcon was reported stolen from Rhode Island. We were provided with the following details on this particular copy: Inscribed on the upper right-hand corner of the first page was "R Stackpole” and written just below was "to Carol” The book had no stains, no rips, no other writing, no fringe tears, and was wrapped in white tissue paper. Regarding the wrapping: #1) the color... [more]

UPDATE: These items have been recovered. On 29 March 2019, a box with 26 Japanese books went missing in Salt Lake City, UT. The books had been exhibited at the ARLIS/NA conference and were packed and sealed in a brown cardboard box, heavily taped and labeled, that was to be shipped by UPS Freight to Boston, MA. The box was issued a UPS Freight tracking number that was never activated. A list of th... [more]

The following item has been reported missing: On April 20, a first edition/first printing of the first Nancy Drew book-- The Secret of the Old Clock-- was stolen from a locked case at a downtown Savannah antique mall. The book itself is a little over 1" thick, medium blue with pale pink capital letters outlined in black. Other than the lettering, the front of the book is plain; there is no Nancy D... [more]

The following item has been reported stolen: Tractatus De Attentatis Et Innovatis, etc. Printed in Rome, in 1576, by Vincentium Accoltum. 16th century book in Latin, Folio. Treatise on Italian civil and ecclesiastical law. Collates: A - I, K - T, V, X, Y, Z, AA- II, KK - TT, VV, XX, YY, ZZ, AAa - EEc, a-h, i, k. Page numbering anomalies in index but catchwords match. Original vellum binding over 1... [more]

It has been reported that Volume 4 of the following five volume set was missing during breakdown of the New York Fair and appears to have been stolen: Ernst, Max. Une Semaine de bonté, ou les sept éléments capitaux. Paris: Editions Jeanne Bucher, 1934. First edition. Blue printed wrappers. From the issue of 800 copies on Navarre paper, this is numbered Copy 61. The fourth volume from this set o... [more]

The following book went missing or was stolen from the main sorting facility of the USPS in Los Angeles between October 17 and October 21, 2018: Twain, Mark. THE CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG. London: Routledge Later printing. Contemporary quarter dark blue calf and dark blue pebbled cloth sides, red non-pareil marbled end papers. The incorrect date “(1871)” is penciled in on the title-page. Binding... [more]

This item is still missing as of 6/14/2019. The following item was reported stolen in Ann Arbor: The Royal Path of Life. by T. I. Haines, A.M. & L.W. Yaggy M.S. 1877. 1st edition. Brown hardcover. If you have any information on this item, please contact Brian M. Sennett at bsennett@umich.edu or (734) 260-7631. [more]

A copy of 'Up From Slavery' by Booker T. Washington that was signed by the author has been reported missing. It was last seen at a residence in Sonoma, CA. In addition to the author's signature, there is an addiitonal inscription which reads, "For Kaj Opfell This book was inscribed for your grandfather, Georg Strandvold"; photos are below. If you have any information on this item, please contact D... [more]

Detectives from the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, located in Pittsburgh PA, are currently investigating the theft of multiple rare books, folios, maps, plates, etc., which occurred over an extended period of time. Many of these items may have stamps or other markings reflecting ownership by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, and would also not likely be marked for deaccession. A nu... [more]

UPDATE: This item has been recovered. The following disappeared in postal transit from San Francisco to New York: (Bierce, Ambrose). The Dance of Death. By William Herman . Author's Copy. , 1877. "Authors Edition" . Original green cloth, blocked in black and gold, all edges stained red (BAL's binding "B"), back cover lightly marked but an excellent, bright copy.The misprint "burn" for "burning" on... [more]

This item is still missing as of 6/12/2019. The following Dard Hunter titles (all oversize books) have been reported stolen from the University of New Mexico's Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections; the barcode may have been on either an acid-free slip or on the outside of the box. Japanese hand-made paper :Japanese paper and paper-making, 1958 includes customs declaration dated Ma... [more]

The following books were reported stolen: Zone, by Guillaume Apollinaire, translated by Samuel Beckett, published by the Dolmen Press, in an edition numbered and signed by Samuel Beckett, with a short haiku by Alan Ginsberg written on the front endpaper, and signed by Ginsberg; in navy blue boards in a blue slipcase, about 10 inches high North, by Seamus Heaney, paperback, signed by Heaney on the ... [more]

The following item has been reported stolen: Title : The Confidence-Man: his masquerade. Authors : Herman Melville Date of publication : 1857. Publisher : Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts., London. Description : First English Edition. 354pp., original dark yellow ochre net grain cloth. Spine a little sunned and gilt lettering dull, otherwise flawless: an exceptional copy. If you have any... [more]

This item is still missing as of 6/12/2019. The following item has been reported stolen: Title: A Display of Heraldry Authors: GUILLIM, John (1565-1621). Date of publication: 1610 Publisher: Printed by William Hall, London Description: FIRST EDITION. Folio. Recently respined and recornered, possibly in panelled calf. If you have any information on this item, please contact Adrian Harrington at rar... [more]

This item is still missing as of 6/11/2019. The following item has been reported stolen: Autograph note signed, April 16, 1785, with address panel, to “Monsier Ruston, Hotel d'Orleans, Palais Royal.” “Mr. Jefferson's compliments to Mr. Ruston and begs the honor of his company to dinner on Tuesday next the 19th instant.” If you have any information pertaining to this document, please contac... [more]

The following book is missing, presumed stolen, from NY Book Fair, March 13, 2017. STEELE . An Essay upon Gardening, Containing a Catalogue of Exotic Planes for the Stoves and Green-Houses of the British Gardens… York: Printed for Author, By G. Peacock, 1793. 4to (25.7 x 20.1 cm). Description: Later 19th century half calf on pebble maroon paper boards. The front cover is loose, almost off. Raise... [more]

The box containing letters apparently taken by unknown persons from outside residence: John Muir ALS August 2, 1908 to Mr Young August 20, 1904 to Mr Ray April 11, 1909 to W G Chapman Feb 9, 1910 to H L Abbott April 12, 1906 to an editor If offered, please contact ABAA Member George Houle. [more]

A theft of a number of maps and prints focused on Arctic Exploration, Ethnography, and Circumpolar Navigation has been reported in Juneau, Alaska. Please contact our offices at the ABAA if you have any information reguarding these items. [more]

This item is still missing as of 5/31/2019. The following item has been reported stolen: Title : Handwritten Civil War Diary of Arminius Wesley Bill Author : (Arminius Wesley Bill) Date of publication : Sep. 20 1861, to July 20, 1865 Description : The cover reads "Personal history during the Civil War. Arminius Wesley Bill DIARY Sep. 20 1861, to July 20, 1865. Three years and ten months." Also on ... [more]

Thomas Patten of the New Canaan, CT Police Department reports the following item stolen from a private residence: Faded royal blue volume of Moby Dick housed in a protective beige colored box with a black band on the spine, against which the title was embossed in gold lettering. The container was clearly of more recent vintage than the volume (perhaps mid-20th Century). Inside the box, there was a... [more]

These items are still missing as of 5/31/2019. Two items went missing from Pryor-Johnson Rare Books at Crawford-Doyle Booksellers. 1. Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood. A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences. NY: Random House, 1965. First edition, first printing. Capote's own copy, which he had bound specially. Quarter-bound in grey buckram with blue-marbled paper sides; gilt-stamped... [more]

UPDATE: RECOVERED From Michael Hackenberg, Chair of the Northern California Chapter of the ABAA: The rare book room at Moe's Books on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley has just reported to me the recent theft of the 1977 Sultan and Mandel photography book, Evidence by Larry Sultan and Mike Mandel. Moe's reports the book missing as of Monday, July 8th. If offered this title and you suspect it is the sig... [more]

UPDATE: RECOVERED, 6/29/15 Reported missing from a private library in Walnut Creek, California -- James Joyce's serialized Ulysses in the LITTLE REVIEW, housed in what sounds like a custom grayish-blue box lettered in gilt on the upper cover "Ulysses by James Joyce." The owner received these as a college graduation present from her father 55 years ago. She cannot speak to completeness/number of is... [more]

Miegan Gordon of Asheville, NC's Captain's Bookshelf got a surprise last month when she opened the store. A copy of Billy Collins' poetry collection Nine Horses (a signed first edition, no less) was looking a little worse for wear. It was full of holes punched from front to back, and the author photo had been altered to make Collins look like a silent movie villain, complete with curling mustaches... [more]

This item is still missing as of 5/31/2019. Orpheus Books in Redmond, Washington reports: On April 22, 2015, the following title went missing from our customer's doorstep in Roxbury, MA: Steve Holl. Steven Holl: Architecture Spoken. The book was inscribed and dated by architect Steven Holl on the title page: For Chuck & Linda, S. Holl 7/23/07. The book is a first edition in very fine condition wit... [more]

UPDATE (5/13): RECOVERED Adam Davis of Division Leap in Portland, Oregon reports: "Our car was stolen today from outside the shop. There were a couple hundred 8vo sized zines in the back, and two binders with ephemera. We don't have a list of the contents yet- but I would think this many zines hitting the market would be a bit of an anomaly. . . . There was a complete run of the zine Dishwasher, b... [more]

UPDATE (5/13): RECOVERED Three items have been reported missing in the wake of the New York Antiquarian Book Fair. (Two broadsides and one CDV -- descriptions below.) The items were last seen in Booth B-12 and were likely misplaced during move-out. If you catch word of these items, please contact ABAA Security Chair Garrett Scott via email. With thanks, Garrett Scott Chair, ABAA Security Committee... [more]