The books, once owned by philanthropists John Hay Whitney and Betsey Whitney, were stolen from their home in the 1980s. The collection includes works by John Keats, Oscar Wilde, and James Joyce. They were recovered in 2025 when someone attempted to sell them to two rare book dealers in Midtown. The books were seized through a series of search warrants and returned to the Whitney family, who plan to auction them and donate the proceeds. The investigation into how the books were stolen remains ongoing.