Stolen Christopher Columbus Letter Returned To Spain

The letter describes the people, landscape and gold Columbus found in the Americas

BBC: Stolen Christopher Columbus letter returned to Spain

The US has returned a 500-year-old stolen Christopher Columbus letter to Spain after a seven-year hunt.

Written in 1493, the letter describes the explorer's discoveries in the New World and was addressed to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

However, authorities received a tip in 2011 that several copies had been stolen and replaced with forgeries.

Spain's US ambassador Pedro Morenes received the letter in a repatriation ceremony in Washington.

Mr Morenes described the event as "a showcase of the ties that bind the United States and Spain together".

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Update: US returns stolen copy of Christopher Columbus letter to Spain (AFP)

Bookyards Editor: You can read one his letters (translated into English) by going to this link.

What Ever Happened to the 'Mission Impossible' Rare-Book Thieves?

Owen Jarus, Live Science: What Ever Happened to the 'Mission Impossible' Rare-Book Thieves? We Investigated.

Three thieves who stole 160 rare books more than a year ago by rappelling down the skylight of a warehouse in London continue to evade police, leaving a series of mysteries in their wake.

Sometime between Jan. 29 and Jan. 30, 2017, the three thieves bored holes into the warehouse's skylight and rappelled down about 40 feet (12 meters), evading motion-sensor alarms. The books they stole included volumes written by Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei. Experts estimated the total value of the 160 books at around $2.5 million, the Guardian reported.

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Bookyards Editor:  The books they stole included volumes written by Isaac Newton, Leonardo da Vinci, Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei. My gut is telling me that those books are in private collection right now .... and we are not going to see and hear about them for a very very long time.