Rare Books Stolen, Then Recovered After Decades

A collection of rare books, including Joyce's Finnegan's Wake and Keats' love letters, valued at $3 million, stolen in 1989, were recovered in 2025 when a man attempted to pawn them. The grandson of the owner is not a suspect.

A signed, numbered first-edition copy of Joyce’s famous “Finnegan’s Wake,” published in 1939, was likewise stolen– along with Oscar Wilde’s jailhouse letters “De Profundis” that are valued at around $2,000, according to authorities.

The rich heir, additionally a former ambassador to the United Kingdom, was an enthusiastic art enthusiast who acquired thousands of uncommon works from his mom, the poet Helen Hay, and eventually saved pieces from his treasured collection at the household’s stretching 400-acre Greentree estate in Manhasset, LI.

The Priceless Collection and Its Disappearance

The 17 historic works– valued at virtually $3 million– once came from socialites John Hay Whitney and his 2nd spouse, philanthropist Betsey Cushing Whitney, before they were reported missing out on from Whitney’s estate on Long Island in 1989.

It’s unclear just how the unknown guy’s grandfather obtained the books, however the grandson is ruled out a suspect in their burglary due to the fact that he he also had not been born at the time they were taken, according to Matthew Bogdanos, head of the Manhattan DA’s Antiquities Trafficking System.

It would take nearly 40 years for the tomes– which included love letters from British poet John Keats and a signed copy of James Joyce’s “Finnegan’s Wake”– to instantly turn up when a male tried pawning them off to two Manhattan book-sellers in January 2025.

The Mystery of the Thief and the Discovery

A stack of uncommon publications worth numerous dollars was finally gone back to the successors of New york city City nobility Monday– years after they were taken by a mystical bookworm, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office stated.

Justice and the DA’s Commitment

“Whether it’s a gallery or a museum, we are the resources … in authenticity,” Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg claimed at an interview. “This kind of legal activity should not occur anywhere, and we’re not mosting likely to relent in Manhattan.”

Among the 17 looted books recovered was a bound collection of 37 love letters penciled by 19th century poetic love titan Keats to his girlfriend Frances “Fanny” Brawne– consisting of eight initial handwritten letters that are currently valued at more than $2 million.

Extra than 2 loads unusual duplicates from the collection were reported missing throughout an inventory check carried out between John Whitney’s fatality in 1982 and 1989, Manhattan prosectors said– triggering the family to get in touch with the Nassau Area Police Department.