$90,000 find of stolen N.Z. books

Press, 5 June 1978, Page 4

$90,000 find of stolen N.Z. books

NZPA special correspondent London

A valuable collection of antique books stolen from the General Assembly Library in Wellington has been seized by British police from a house in Hertfordshire.

The Wellington police arrested a Wellington man after being told about the recovery of the books, all published last century or earlier. The man has been remanded to June 19 without plea bv Mr A. B. Beatson, S.M., "in the Magistrate’s Court at Wellington, the Press 'Association reports.

David Los, aged 36. was

remanded on bail of $lOOO, with a similar surety.

The Magistrate declined! an application for sup-1 pression of name. Los was alleged to have! stolen the books between; May 1974, and November, 1974, from the General Assembly Library. The books belonged to his then ememployer. the National Lib-: rary of New Zealand. The 35 books, valued about) SNZ9O,OOO, cover a variety of| subjects dealing with history and travel, including one published in the fifteenth century, and one containing rare original prints of British towns, and two concerning the voyages of Captain Cook. Thev were discovered bv the Scotland Yard arts and

antiques squad during a search of a house in Radlett, [Hertfordshire, last week-end. I A spokesman for Scotland [Yard told the N.Z.P.A. that i the specialist squad had been 'acting on information received from within Britain. “After we had recovered the books we passed the information on to the New Zea-j [land nolice in Wellington; ' they later arrested a New (Zealand schoolteacher. David | Graham Los of Mount Vic(toria, Wellington,” he said. The books are not believed to have been damaged since their removal from the Parliamentary Library, and the spokesman said that no attempt had been made to conceal them in the Hertfordshire house.

The collection of books will be held by Scotland Yard, awaiting a request for their return by the New Zealand police, a process which is expected to take some time.

The General Assembly Library retains a copy of all New Zealand publications, as well as a considerable collection of antique and historic books. The 35 books seized include several relating to early travels in New Zealand and Australia, as well as others of a purely antique and historic interest, with no specific New Zealand link. The oldest of the books is a Latin manuscript by Sallust published in 1494, and the collection includes an eightvolume edition of voyages in Great Britain, valued about

1 SNZIB,OOO. The book was , published in 1821 and in- • eludes original plates of Bri--1 tish towns, which fetch a - high price if sold separately as framed prints.