A Northeast Portland Bookshop Is Reopening After Dozens of Rare Books Were Stolen From the Store

Passages Bookshop is set to reopen today after a break-in earlier this month, but nearly 100 of the shop's rare books are still missing.

The Lloyd District store, which stocks vintage and hard-to-find titles, was broken into on Jan. 1 and has been closed ever since. The perpetrators are currently unknown.

Owner David Abel filed a report with the Portland Police Bureau and posted a list of the stolen titles online, but currently has no information about the whereabout of the books.

"I've had a few people contact me with what they thought might be leads, but nothing has actually panned out," says Abel. "But it has been encouraging that it's prompted people to be on the look out."

Passages was been able to repair the physical damages to its storefront: broken display cases and a busted door. But none of the dozens of stolen books have been located.

The missing titles includes a series that features covers by Andy Warhol, a first edition W.H. Auden book signed by the author and a copy of Patti Smith Complete: Lyrics, Reflections, & Notes for the Future signed by Smith.

Abel declined to give a specific estimate of the total value of stolen books, other than "many thousands of dollars." Passages specializes in rare and fine books—when the store moved into its current location in 2016, its inventory included a poetry journal with a cover by Andy Warhol that was priced at $20,000.

Passages Bookshop will resume regular hours on Thursday, Jan. 16. The full list of stolen books can be found here.

A Northeast Portland Bookshop Is Reopening After Dozens of Rare Books Were Stolen From the Store

The missing titles includes a series that features covers by Andy Warhol, a first-edition W.H. Auden book signed by the author and another book signed by Patti Smith.