Here’s another database for those who love Art and Books too much!
- by Bruce E. McKinney
Adding gravitas to the centuries old canard, "I've been robbed"
It’s Interpol’s Stolen Works of Art Database. Yes, there is Abe and Biblio for books and art, many of which are absolute steals but now there is a database exclusively of steals. And how many could there be? Good grief: 52,000 lost pieces of art, all added to Interpol’s ID-Art that you can access on your phone. How convenient to browse art fairs or shops to see if what you’re admiring is hot or not. Is this progress or evidence of a decline of civilization. Maybe both.
The internet has certainly increased opportunities for thieves to sell their ill-gotten goods while their online offers may remain to be stored in perpetuity.
Its’ their main tool to tackle the traffic in cultural property.
Go to the Interpol website. There you can post a picture that if it matches you’ll be provided additional information.
The goal is to stop trafficking.
The app can be downloaded on the Play Store for Android and Google, the App Store or iPhone users and is available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary pair of books from George Washington’s field library, marking the conjunction of Robert Rogers, George Washington, and Henry Knox. $1,200,000 to $1,800,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: An extraordinary letter marking the conjunction of George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin. $1,000,000 to $1,500,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: Virginia House of Delegates. The genesis of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. $350,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s Fine Manuscript and Printed Americana 27 January 2026
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: (Gettysburg). “Genl. Doubleday has taken charge of the battle”: Autograph witness to the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, illustrated by fourteen maps and plans. $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: President Lincoln thanks a schoolboy on behalf of "all the children of the nation for his efforts to ensure "that this war shall be successful, and the Union be maintained and perpetuated." $200,000 to $300,000.
Sotheby’s, Jan. 27: [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.
![<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9d2762bc-9f26-47ef-96de-1c28070e19f6.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Jan. 27:</b> [World War II]. An archive of maps and files documenting the allied campaign in Europe, from the early stages of planning for D-Day and Operation Overlord, to Germany’s surrender. $200,000 to $300,000.")