Rare Book Monthly

Articles - May - 2019 Issue

AbeBooks Top 20 Highest Prices Paid for Books in the First Quarter of 2019

Abe Lincoln's log cabin (AbeBooks photo).

Abe Lincoln's log cabin (AbeBooks photo).

AbeBooks has released their list of the 20 most expensive books purchased on their website in the first quarter of 2019. The books are too diverse to describe succinctly, with the common thread being that collectors are still willing to spend serious money for what they want. Here is their latest list.

 

20. Anatomia Uteri Humani Gravidi Tabulis Illustrata by William Hunter, published in 1774. Focused on the anatomy of the human uterus, this book is not for everyone. Fun fact: According to AbeBooks, "It took 30 years to write as Hunter had trouble obtaining the cadavers of pregnant women for dissection." $8,485.

 

19. The Black Mountain Review edited by Robert Creeley, published from 1954-1957. Contributors included Jack Kerouac and Hubert Selby, Jr. $8,500.

 

18. Les Travaux et les Jours by Hesiod, illustrated by Paul-Émile Colin, published in 1912. Hesiod was a Greek poet who wrote this some 2,500 years before this first French edition appeared. Colin was a French engraver and painter who illustrated many books, including those of Zola and Kipling. $9,036.

 

17. A single illuminated manuscript leaf circa 1400. It features musical notations and a large letter "E" with an image of an apostle within. $9,500.

 

16. Complete Set of the Sharpe Series by Bernard Cornwell, all signed first editions, circa 1980s. These are historical novels featuring English soldier Richard Sharpe. $9,948.

 

15. Post Office Reform; its Importance and Practicability by Rowland Hill, privately printed in 1837. AbeBooks describes Hill as "the father of the modern postal system." Now you know who to blame. $10,000.

 

14. The First Booke of Architecture by Sebastian Serli, published in 1611. Probably not literally the first book about architecture, but very early, having originally been published in French and Italian in 1545. $11,770.

 

13. The Godfather by Mario Puzo, published in 1969. First U.S. edition inscribed to Joe Collins, probably the Hollywood agent and father of actress Joan Collins and writer Jackie Collins. $11,805.

 

12. Two English Poems by Jorge Luis Borges. This is a handwritten manuscript by the Argentine short story writer and poet. $12,000.

 

9-11. The Birds of America by John James Audubon. Obviously not a first edition at this price, but this 1985 Abbeville facsimile edition published in conjunction with the National Audubon Society is still quite spectacular. $12,500.

 

9-11. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, published in 1926. Copy #262 of 350 large paper first editions printed on handmade paper and signed by Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard. $12,500.

 

9-11. A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America by Louis Hennepin, first English edition circa 1698. Father Hennepin did not take a vow of honesty. Some of this was made up or borrowed from others' adventures unattributed, and yet Hennepin provided us with some of the earliest accounts of life in the then American frontier. $12,500.

 

8. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. All of this was made up. This is a complete set of seven U.K. first editions, first printings, published 1950-1956. $13,500.

 

7. Lost Horizon by James Hilton, published in 1933. A signed first edition of the book that popularized the fictional Utopian Shangri-La. $14,000.

 

6. The Works of Virgil. Another ancient Greek, though not quite so ancient as Hesiod, this is the first illustrated Virgil, published in 1517. Features 207 woodcuts. $14,515.

 

5. Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail by Ansel Adams, published in 1938. Letter "K" of 26 lettered of 500 total copies, these signed lettered copies were given away by Adams. This photobook includes 50 tipped-in illustrations from Adams' photographs. $15,000.

 

4. The Novels and Tales of Henry James, published 1907-1917. Twenty-six volumes, bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. $15,922.

 

2-3. The Writings of Mark Twain, published 1899-1907. This is letter "B" of just 12 lettered copies of a total of 512. Twenty-five volumes, the first signed "S.L. Clemens." Came with a short, signed letter. $25,000.

 

2-3. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, published in 1930. This is a first edition of Sam Spade in an unrestored first issue dust jacket. $25,000.

 

1. The Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln, published in 1905. Twelve volumes bound in 23, this is the Presidential edition, limited to 50 copies. Features portraits, views, maps, photographs, and facsimile letters. $40,000.

Rare Book Monthly

  • DOYLE
    Rare Books, Autographs & Maps
    July 23, 2025
    DOYLE, July 23: WALL, BERNHARDT. Greenwich Village. Types, Tenements & Temples. Estimate $300-500
    DOYLE, July 23: STOKES, I. N. PHELPS. The Iconography of Manhattan Island, 1498-1909. New York: Robert H. Dodd, 1915-28. Estimate: $3,000-5,000
    DOYLE, July 23: [AUTOGRAPH - US PRESIDENT]FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. A signed photograph of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Estimate $500-800
    DOYLE, July 23: [ARION PRESS]. ABBOTT, EDWIN A. Flatland. A Romance of Many Dimensions. San Francisco, 1980. Estimate $2,000-3,000.
    DOYLE, July 23: TOLSTOY, LYOF N. and NATHAN HASKELL DOLE, translator. Anna Karénina ... in eight parts. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell & Co., [1886]. Estimate: $400-600
    DOYLE, July 23: ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. London: Bloomsbury, 2000. Estimate $1,200-1,800
  • Freeman’s | Hindman
    Western Manuscripts and Miniatures
    July 8, 2025
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FRANCESCO PETRARCH (b. Arezzo, 20 July 1304; d. Arqua Petrarca, 19 July 1374). $20,000-30,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF THE VITAE IMPERATORUM (active Milan, 1431-1459). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF ATTAVANTE DEGLI ATTAVANTI (GABRIELLO DI VANTE) (active Florence, c. 1452-c. 1520/25). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. FOLLOWER OF HERMAN SCHEERE (active London, c. 1405-1425). $15,000-20,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. An exceptionally rare, illuminated music leaf from a Mozarabic Antiphonal with sister leaves mostly in museum collections. $11,500-14,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Exceptional leaf from a prestigious Antiphonary by a leading illuminator of the late Duecento. $11,500-14,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. CIRCLE OF THE MASTER OF MS REID 33 and SELWERD ABBEY SCRIPTORIUM (AGNES MARTINI?) (active The Netherlands, Groningen, c. 1468-1510). $10,000-15,000.
    Freeman’s | Hindman, July 8. Previously unknown illumination from one of the most renowned Gothic Choir Book sets of the Middle Ages. $6,000-8,000.
  • Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Lucianus Samosatensis. Dialogoi, editio princeps, second issue, Florence, Laurentius Francisci de Alopa, 1496. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Boccaccio (Giovanni). Il Decamerone, Florence, Philippo di Giunta, 1516. £10,000 to £15,000.
    Forum, July 17: Henry VII (King) & Philip the Fair (Duke of Burgundy). [Intercursus Magnus], [Commercial and Political Treaty between Henry VII and Philip Duke of Burgundy], manuscript copy in Latin, original vellum, 1499. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bible, English. The Holy Bible, Conteyning the Old Testament, and the New, Robert Barker, 1613. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Bond (Michael). A Bear Called Paddington, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1958. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum Auctions
    Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper
    17th July 2025
    Forum, July 17: Yeats (William Butler). The Secret Rose, first edition, with extensive autograph corrections, additions and amendments by the author for a new edition, 1897. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Byron (George Gordon Noel, Lord). Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, bound in dark green morocco elaborately tooled in gilt and with 3 watercolours to fore-edge, by Fazakerley of Liverpool, 1841. £4,000 to £6,000.
    Forum, July 17: Miró (Juan), Wassily Kandinsky, John Buckland-Wright, Stanley William Hayter and others.- Spender (Stephen). Fraternity, one of 101 copies, with signed engravings by 9 artists. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Sowerby (George Brettingham). Album comprising 22 leaves of original watercolour drawings of fossil remains of Cheltenham and Vicinity, [c.1840]. £6,000 to £8,000.
    Forum, July 17: Mathematics.- Blue paper copy.- Euclid. De gli Elementi, Urbino, Appresso Domenico Frisolino, 1575. £12,000 to £18,000.
  • Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Book of Hours by the Masters of Otto van Moerdrecht, Use of Sarum, in Latin, Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1450. £20,000 to £30,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Albert Einstein. Autograph letter signed, to Attilio Palatino, on his research into General Relativity, 12 May 1929. £12,000 to £18,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: John Gould. The Birds of Europe, [1832-] 1837, 5 volumes, contemporary half morocco, subscriber’s copy. £40,000 to £60,000.
    Sotheby’s
    Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern
    Now through July 10, 2025
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: Ian Fleming. A collection of James Bond first editions, 8 volumes in all. £8,000 to £12,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, 1997, first edition, hardback issue. £50,000 to £70,000.
    Sotheby’s, Ending July 10: J.R.R. Tolkien. Autograph letter signed, to Amy Ronald, on Pauline Baynes's map of Middle Earth, 1970. £7,000 to £10,000.
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