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German Auction House Disputes
Poland’s Claim to Stolen Library Book

Experts believe a 15th-century handmade book cover offered for sale by a German auction house was stolen from the Jagiellonian Library in Krakow, Poland. Some suspect that the whole book and 13 others also being offered for sale are among 51 books stolen from the library. Reiss and Son, an antique books shop and auction house in Königstein im Taunus, near Frankfurt, maintains that the cover of second-century astronomer Ptolemy’s Cosmographia is not from the stolen copy.

Reiss and Son partner Godeberg M. Reiss insists that the book cover will go on sale October 21. “The book comes from a completely different source,” he said in an October 1 Associated Press report.

Polish Justice Minister Hanna Suchocka has asked German authorities to secure the book and allow a Polish prosecutor to examine it and establish ownership. She indicated that authorities are not accusing the auction house and suspect it may have been the victim of fraud. The AP said the Cosmographia is valued at $658,215.

Posted October 11, 1999.

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German Auction House Disputes Poland’s Claim to Stolen Library Book

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German Auction House Disputes
Poland’s Claim to Stolen Library Book