One of the world's most expensive books stolen in France
One of the world's most expensive and heaviest books — Joseph Foret's "Apocalypse" with a cover created by Salvador Dalí — has been stolen from a private museum in the commune of Issoire in central France.
This was reported by the radio station Ici.
"This is a grandiose, masterful work that has no equivalent in the world. Last night they killed France, they killed French cultural heritage," the book's owner, Christian Karutzos, told the radio station.
The book was on display at the city's center of contemporary art, which was also founded by Karutzos. It was stolen from there on the night of October 4-5. The circumstances of the theft have not been specified. The investigation was entrusted to the gendarmerie of Clermont-Ferrand.
The work was created between 1958 and 1961 by the gallery owner Joseph Foret with the blessing of Pope John XXIII, based on the "Revelation of John the Theologian" — the last book of the New Testament, also known as the "Apocalypse." A dozen and a half of the most famous artists and writers of that time took part in creating this work of art, including Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau, Bernard Buffet and Ossip Zadkine. The book's total weight is 210 kg, of which 150 kg is accounted for by the bronze cover made by Dalí.
When the book was published, it was valued at 100 million old francs. In 2003, Karutzos acquired it at an auction in Japan for "several million euros," the regional newspaper Ouest-France writes.
