Books Valued at Almost $100,000 Stolen from English Bookshop
- by Michael Stillman
A theft of books valued at around £70,000 (almost US $100,000) occurred at a family bookshop in England the night of January 8-9. The size is quite impactful for the family-owned business. These were apparently the shop's most valuable books, a sign the thieves new what they were looking for. Two thieves broke into the back of the store and exited about half an hour later with the group of valuable books in hand.
The Norfolk Police provided a list of the stolen books and their estimated values, including the following:
Hardcover Bloomsbury first edition of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in a red custom box worth around £40,000.
Hardcover signed first edition of Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett worth around £9,000.
Set of four first editions of Winnie the Pooh in a black custom box worth around £5,000.
Hardcover first edition of The Hobbit from 1937 worth around £7,000.
First impression of The Great Gatsby from 1925 in a dark blue custom case worth around £2,000.
Paperback copy of Brief History of Time from 1983 with a thumbprint signature by Stephen Hawking.
Two first editions of the Gunslinger by Stephen King worth around £2,000 each.
Sketchbook from the 1820s-1840s by an unknown artist including pencil and water colour sketches.
A spokesperson for the Norfolk Police stated, "I am urging people, especially book dealers or those working in specialist book shops, to be vigilant in case they are offered for sale."
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Book of Hours.- Heures de nostre dame a l'usaige de Romme, Paris, Antoine Chappiel pour Germain Hardouin, [1504]. £6,000-8,000
Forum, May 28: Colonna (Francesco). La Hypnerotomachia di Poliphilo, second edition, Venice, Sons of Aldus Manutius, 1545. £15,000-20,000
Forum, May 28:The Christ Child holding a crystal orb and surrounded by banderoles with devotional exhortations, on a leaf most probably from a Book of Hours, [Southern Netherlands, last decades of the fifteenth century]. £2,000-3,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Jackson (Shirley). The Haunting of Hill House, first English edition, signed presentation inscription from the author to Claude Fredericks, 1960. £2,000-3,000
Forum, May 28: Lennon (John). In His Own Write, first edition, first impression, signed by the author, 1964. £3,000-4,000
Forum, May 28: Doves Press.- Keats (John). [Poems], one of 200 copies on paper, Doves Press, 1914. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Rodrigues (João Barbosa). Sertum Palmarum Brasiliensium, 2 vol., first and only edition, Brussels, 1903. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Newton (Sir Isaac). Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica…editio ultima, auctior et emendatior, Amsterdam, Sumptibus Societatis, 1714. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Kepler (Johannes). Ad Vitellionem paralipomena, wuibus astronomiae pars optica traditur, first edition, Frankfurt am Main, 1604. £5,000-7,000
Forum Auctions Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper 28th May 2026
Forum, May 28: Tagliacozzi (Gaspare). De Curtorum Chirurgia per insitionem, libri duo, first edition, Venice, Gasparo Bindoni, 1597. £7,000-10,000
Forum, May 28: Lootsman (Jacobsz). The Lightning Colomne, or Sea-Mirrour, containing the Sea-Coasts of the Northern, Eastern and Western Navigation..., 1670. £8,000-12,000
Forum, May 28: Ribelles y Helip (José), Attributed to. An album comprising 33 finely executed watercolours of Spanish costume, bull-fighting scenes, and other genre subjects, [circa 1830]. £10,000-15,000
