Help Catch this Bastard

I ran across this info on an abebooks forum, and I'd like to spread the word.

Early in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, June 9, a thief robbed an Austin, TX Half Price Books at 2222 of over forty rare and collectible books. Unlike many of the other Half Price locations, these books are the centerpiece of the store, complete with their own room and many locked cases.

The unscrupulous individual absconded with some of the finest items in the store's inventory. Unique titles such as

Leonard Feather's The New Encyclopedia of Jazz signed or inscribed by over twenty-seven jazz musicians, some multiple times including legends Charlie Byrd, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Nina Simone

The Bretano's edition of R. C. Sherriff's famed World War I play Journey's End signed by Sheriff, producer (and poet) Maurice Browne, and legendary director James Whale (who directed this version and would later direct the 1930 film version)

Author Eugene C. Barker's personal copy of The Life of Stephen F. Austin complete with his penciled notes on changes made to the published text.

Or rare titles such as the

1875 first French edition of Karl Marx's Das Capital

signed first edition of Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show

first edition of Under the Volcano by Malcom Lowry

first edition of Hammet's Maltese Falcon

the first US edition of Edwin Abbot's cult novel Flatland.

Among the missing:

signed books by Edward Gorey, Stephen King, Hunter S. Thompson, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Richard Nixon

and

first editions by Jack Kerouac, John Steinbeck, J. D. Salinger, Cormac McCarthy, Dr. Seuss, and Maurice Sendak.

Anyone with information is asked to contact me directly either via email at rklaw@halfpricebooks.com or at the store (512-451-4463).

Rick Klaw
Half Price Books Austin