Two antique books that were stolen from Sweden's National Library have been handed back here after being recovered in the US, Indian-American legal expert Preet Bharara said.
The books, which were once part of the collections of Swedish royalty, contain early depictions by explorers of interior areas of the US, including the Mississippi River.
"These two books, which offered the world some of the first glimpses of the extraordinary American landscape and people, were wrongfully taken from the National Library of Sweden, only to end up in the land depicted in their pages more than 300 years ago," Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara said yesterday.
"With their odyssey now complete, we are proud to be part of returning these priceless artifacts to their rightful owners," he added.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos said: "Treasured pieces of a country's heritage have value far beyond their price on the open market. Some things are not for sale -- or shouldn't be."
"Anders Burius stole dozens of rare books from the National Library of Sweden, sold them, confessed to the thefts, and committed suicide. He cannot be prosecuted. But the FBI has a role in serving the interests of justice beyond arresting criminals. We are happy to have assisted in returning a part of Sweden's cultural wealth," Venizelos said.
The two books being returned are part of a group of at least 56 rare or one-of-a-kind books that were stolen from the National Library of Sweden's collection by Anders Burius, a former employee of the Library, between 1995 and 2004.
After stealing the books, Burius consigned or sold the books to Ketterer Kunst, an auction house in Germany. Shortly before committing suicide in 2004, Burius confessed to the book thefts to Swedish law enforcement officials.
The two books are a Louis Hennepin book printed in Paris in 1683 by Sebastien Hure (the "Louis Hennepin book"), and a Henry Lewis book entitled printed in Dusseldorf between 1854-58 by Arntz & Comp (the "Henry Lewis book").
The former, which documents the author's exploration of the upper Mississippi River in 1680, once belonged to King Gustav IV while the latter contains hand-coloured lithographs and texts from the author's exploration of the Mississippi River between the years 1846-1849.
This Henry Lewis book belonged to the collection of King Charles XV.
