MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – Two valuable first edition books were stolen from the front counter of a small downtown bookstore.
Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” was estimated to be worth $600 while Sylvia Plath’s “Ariel” was thought to be worth $700, when they were stolen from the Book Garden, officials said.
Book Garden co-owner Rick Powell said he thought the books were stolen on Tuesday, but the losses weren’t noticed until Thursday.
“It was really busy that day,” Powell said. “And there was just one person in here at the time.”
Powell said that last year a $250 early edition of “The Little Princess” was taken and never recovered.
The shop does most of its business over the Internet. Powell said he and his wife would have to decide if they should keep the storefront open. “It’s not so much the monetary loss; it’s the loss of trust,” said Powell.
“If this keeps happening it’s hard for us to stay in business,” he said. “We spent a long time last night talking about what to do.”
Information from: The Times Argus, http://www.timesargus.com/
AP-ES-03-18-07 1106EDT
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