A copy of Ptolemy's Cosmographia was taken from the library in Paris on August 1 by someone allegedly using a stolen identity card allowing access to rare documents.

Its absence was discovered three months later during a routine check. Valued at $850,000, it is one of the first printed versions of the works of the 2nd-century Greek mathematician and astronomer Ptolemy, issued in Bologna, Italy, in 1477.

Police say a man carrying false ownership documents had listed the atlas for auction at Christie's in London.