The FBI have confirmed that a first folio edition of a William Shakespeare book from 1623 that was stolen from a British university 10 years ago has been found in Washington.
In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says a suspect has been arrested in Britain.
The first folio edition of the Shakespeare works, published in 1623 and said to be worth $33 million, was among items taken during a break-in at the Durham University library in December 1998.
Thieves had forced open glass-top display cases during an exhibition of English literature dating back to the Middle Ages.
The book was found by Washington's Folger Shakespeare Library, which received the publication in June from an old books enthusiast who wanted it authenticated, the FBI said in a statement.
The man asked staff to verify whether the book he had bought in Cuba was genuine. He agreed to leave it with the library for a search to be carried out.
Checks revealed it to be the one stolen from Durham and staff called in the authorities.
"An international investigation was launched with the Washington Field Office working together with the Durham Constabulary in England to determine the identity and location of the person who requested that the book be examined," the FBI said.
A 51-year-old man was detained and interrogated over the weekend in Britain, the FBI said without providing details on the charges against him.
"The Shakespeare folio currently remains in the safe care of the Washington library [in the United States]," Detective superintendent Andy Reddick of Durham Police said .
Other items taken in the 1998 raid included a 14th or 15th century manuscript of an English translation of the New Testament and a handwritten manuscript from the same period of a fragment of a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer.
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