Items from the collection of James Strand began appearing on the open market in August, seemingly pillaged from Strand's Portland-area residence after he passed away early in the year. Strand was known to collect comics, as well as first editions in horror and science fiction genres, including Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft. Among the known missing items is illustration art, including that of H.P. Lovecraft's horror novella, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, by Frank Utpatel. Anyone offered items they suspect stolen from this collection should contact the FBI Portland Field office: (503) 224-4181 or 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. [more Missing: Multi-Million Dollar Collection of Comics, Horror, and Science Fiction]

UPDATE: The items below have been recovered. ________________ The following has been reported missing in transit from New York City to San Diego, CA, shipped via UPS: John Gould's Birds of Europe Three Volumes (of Five) green leather bindings with gold tooling (see attached images) Please contact the firm directly if you know the whereabouts of this material: Harry S. Newman The Old Print Shop, Inc. 49 West 24th St., 2nd Floor New York, NY 10010 (212) 683-3950. Ext 109 hnewman@oldprintshop.net [more UPDATE: Missing in Transit: John Gould’s Birds of Europe]

The following has been reported missing, possibly stolen from Amatoria Fine Art Books in Sacramento: LOT OF THREE BOOKS, published by D. Appleton, 1896, two-volume Origin of the Species, one-vol Descent of Man. Quarterbound in oxblood, red, blue and yellow marbled boards. Very Good condition overall. 8" x 5 1/2" half leather over marbled paper over boards, gilt lettering to spines and TEG, darkened spines, some shelf wear to edges, rubbed tips exposing boards, The Origin of Species Vol I and II have chips to top of spine exposing the headband affecting 1" of spine lettering on Vol II, rubbing to hinges of Origin of Species Vol I. Descent of Man has chips to top of spine not affecting lettering. Ink stain to bottom edge of some pages in Descent of Man, ink stain to bottom margin on pages 30-31 and 52, not affecting text. Previous owner bookplate affixed to front pastedown of all three books (Henry J. Godfrey, M.D.). The number 233 is written in the bottom margin of the Contents in The Origin of Species Vol I and the number 234 appears in the bottom margin of the Contents in Vol II. The number 242 is written in the bottom margin of the Preface to the Second Edition. Very light toning to interiors, pages feel slightly warped to the touch, otherwise clean, tightly bound, and unmarked throughout. The Origin of Species Vol I is (v-viii) 365pp. including a Contents section with excerpts from each chapter, Additions and Corrections to the Sixth Edition, An Historical Sketch, and an I... [more Missing in Sacramento, CA: Three-Volume set of Darwin’s Works]

An ABAA Member reports the following item as lost in transit (FedEx) from Chevy Chase, MD to Chicago. The buyer received an empty box upon delivery. Bressani, Francesco Giuseppe (1612-1672) Breve Relatione d'Alcune Missioni de' PP. della Compagnia di Giesù nella Nuova Francia. Macerata: Heirs of Agostino Grisei, 1653. Quarto: 21.5 x 15.5 cm. , 8 pp., 9-10 ll., 11-127, pp. Collation: π2 A4 B4 (±B1.2) C-Q4 FIRST EDITION. Bound in 17th c. limp sheepskin parchment. With a large woodcut Jesuit device on the title page, woodcut initial, and a factotum built up from fleurons. There is a neatly written contemporary inscription of a Roman Jesuit library on the title page; some leaves foxed or lightly browned; there is a minor ink stain on two leaves. In all, a nice, genuine copy with generous margins. A full description of the item can be found here. If you know the whereabouts of the item or if it is offered for sale, please contact ABAA HQ (hq@abaa.org) or Paul M. Dowling, Liber Antiquus (paul@liberantiquus.com). [more Missing in Transit to Chicago]

UPDATE: The following item has been recovered. The two below are still missing after being placed in a UPS deposit box at The Arsenal in Philadelphia. The First American Edition Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick: or the whale. New York, Harper & Brothers/ London, Richard Bentley, 1851. 8vo (19.3 cm). xxiii, , 654, pp., ff. BAL 13664; Wright, II, 1701; Tanselle 2; Grolier, American, 60. Publisher's purple/brown cloth with company's device stamped in center both covers; orange endpapers; ads at rear. Foxing, top of spine pulled; board edges show wear; spine sunned. In a quarter green Morocco open-back slipcase with a chemise. Spine of slipcase sunned as are part of the sides. The following significant items went missing after being placed in a UPS deposit box at The Arsenal in Philadelphia. The Inquisition & Father Hidalgo's "Manifiesto" Mexico. Inquisition. Broadside, begins: Sabed: que ha llegado á nuestras manos un proclama del rebelde Cura de Dolores que se titula: 'Manifiesto, que el Señor Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla::::,, haze al Pueblo." Mexico: no publisher/printer, 26 January 1811. Folio (43.4 cm; 17.125"). p. Approximately two months prior to Father Hidalgo's capture by the Royal Forces, the Holy Office issued this decree condemning a publication of the Father of Mexican Independence as seditious, Lutheran, and anti-Catholic. Other writings circulating in manuscript are also condemned: One beginning, "Hemos llegado a la epoca" and ending, "De una Patriota de Lagos" and ... [more UPDATE: Melville Recovered; Missing in Transit from Philadelphia: Father Hidalgo & Lettsom]

The following list of items were stolen from a post office in the Sellwood district of Portland, Oregon during a break-in on Saturday, April 30, 2022. The books had been enroute to a Portland book dealer and were accompanied by an invoice stating their value. These items may be offered to bookdealers in the area, or to dealers that specialize in conceptual art. The books are: 1. Dieter Roth. Preisliste. Dieter Roth-Ausstellung Galerie Ernst Hannover 1969. 6 hectographed pages with illustrations drawn on the matrix by Dieter Roth. Stapled. - Original edition. - Signed and dated Hannover 69 by Dieter Roth in ink at upper right. - "The list is typed as a continuous text by Roth and decorated with small drawn illustrations. It begins: 'Once upon a time there was a man who sat on a sausage, one of the famous and notable literary sausages at 300 marks a piece, and he wrote'. Roth had the six-page story with illustrations and prices reproduced using a matrix. The text forms, as it were, the only surviving contemporary overview of part of this early group of works. In addition to the aforementioned literary sausages, several piles - one of which is doused in chocolate - the large-format collage book Snow (1969.54) and the smaller-format bookstore edition as well as the deluxe edition of Poeterei 3/4, the cheese and sausage objects play an important role here". (=Dirk Dobke: Melancholischer Nippes . Dieter Roth's Early Objects and Material Pictures (1960-75) Dissertation Hamburg 1997)... [more Conceptual Art Books Stolen in Portland, OR]

A 1916 bound manuscript illuminated by Alberto Sangorski is missing from Oakland University Libraries (Rochester, MI) following a leak in Kresge Library discovered on December 11, 2021. Specifically, the item is Daisy, A Poem, by English poet Francis Thompson, “designed, written out, and illuminated” on 13 vellum pages by Alberto Sangorski for Riviere & Son with notice that “This manuscript will not be duplicated,” signed by Sangorski. Boards are jade green crushed morocco, inlaid with a border of gilt-outlined daisies and ochre celtic knots encircling five thistle flowers bordered by a thin strip of inlaid black morocco and a thicker band of red with studs echoing jewels; emerald crushed morocco doublures with border of gilt flower and pinnate leaf motif framing watered silk, and watered silk endleaves. Portrait miniature (signed AS 1916) of a young woman on the title page, and many gilt illuminated and ornate initials and rubrications throughout. The book sits in an emerald green clamshell case with brass clasps—the lid is lined in green watered silk, and the bottom is crushed velvet. Condition: Very Fine. If offered, please contact Dr. Dominique Daniel, Coordinator of Archives and Special Collections, Oakland University Libraries, daniel@oakland.edu. [more Missing: 1916 Bound Illuminated Manuscript by Alberto Sangorski]

Between 1995 and 2004, 62 older and very valuable books from the National Library of Sweden (KB) were stolen by the then head of the unit for manuscripts. Today ten of them are returned to KB, made possible by a generous donation. The returned items' lineage spans three centuries and have previously belonged to both royalty and great book collectors before being incorporated into the library's collections. The extensive thefts at KB are well known to many. Media interest has been considerable and the crimes have even been portrayed in documentaries and fiction. For the library, this event was a tragedy and the theft of the 62 books – the bearers of hundreds of years of history – a great loss for our common cultural heritage. After the thefts were discovered in 2004, the police conducted a preliminary investigation, but the case was dropped two years later. In 2011, KB was able to locate and bring home the first of the books, Cornelis von Wytfliet's atlas from 1597. At the same time, KB published a comprehensive list of all the stolen books on their website, with the plea: Help us find the books! That call was answered by Tomas Söderblom, a doctorate historian and successful entrepreneur, who took up the challenge. He contacted KB and took the initiative to donate ten of the stolen books, which today are returned to the library. “A fantastic day for culture and society” - This is a fantastic day, not only for KB but for culture and society in its entirety. We have all... [more Ten Stolen Books Returned to the National Library of Sweden, More Still Missing]

The eleven documents were part of a fifteen item lot sold by Charles Hamilton from his catalogue 15 in 1966, and they were not discovered missing until 2010. They consist mostly of legal documents signed by Mark Twain and his business manager Ralph Ashcroft. A link to a list of the documents with full descriptions and a full account of the matter can be found at the Twainquotes website: http://www.twainquotes.com/MissingInDetroit.html If you have handled any of these documents or recall seeing any of them in the market at any time since 1966, please contact Barbara Schmidt who operates the Twainquotes website (bsschmidt@twainquotes.com), or ABAA member Kevin Mac Donnell (info@macdonnellrarebooks.com). [more Possible Theft of Eleven Important Mark Twain Documents from the Detroit Public Library]

Missing in Transit to NYC: Dodgson, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, New York, Appleton, 1866, finely rebacked, boxed with: Dodgson, Through the Looking-Glass (ink presentation to Rose Franklin, Christmas, 1871) Emerson, Essays 1st & 2nd Series, 2 vols., Boston, 1841, 1844, Estelle Doheny copies, boxed Emerson, Nature, Boston, 1836, boxed Poe, Eureka, New York, 1848, cloth, spine ends repaired, boxed Wharton, Decoration of Houses, 1897, boxed Wharton, Italian Villas, 1904, boxed Wilde Reading Gaol, London, 1898, trade first, slipcase Wilde, Ravenna, Oxford, 1878, half morocco, wrappers bound in Wilde Poems, London, 1881, vellum Wilde Soul of Man, London, 1895, boxed Wilde, Salome, London, 1894 Harpo Marx bookplate Wilde, Children in Prison, London, 1898, boxed Wilde, De Profundis, London, 1905, cloth box If offered, please contact: Henry Wessells James Cummins Bookseller 699 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10065 tel 212.688.6441 cell 917.561.8890 henry@jamescumminsbookseller.com [more Missing in Transit to NYC: Alice, Through the Looking-glass, plus Poe, Wharton and Wilde Titles]