The <b>AE</b> Top 500 Book Auction Results For 2005!
- by Michael Stillman
American Flamingo from J.J. Audubon's Birds of America.
By Michael Stillman
Another year has come to a close, and before we move on to the new year at hand, it is time to take a look at the top auction sales for 2005. Exactly one year ago, we issued the first annual listing of the top 350 sales of books, manuscripts, and related ephemera at auction. This year we go 150 better. We present the top 500 list, and for those in a rush, the link to the AE 500 can be found near the end of this article.
Some people fear that the growing presence of eBay and other online resources will spell the doom of the traditional auction. If so, there was no sign of this impending collapse in 2005. Sales were most impressive. Here at the AE, we follow around 100 auction houses, from those that average less than one book auction per year to those that feature books every few weeks. In total, we covered 343 auctions, offering over 160,000 lots. From these we culled the top 500 prices paid. At the top, the price was over $5.6 million, almost double that of number two and of last year's number one. At the bottom, the price was still $72,000. Think about that. Five hundred items sold for $72,000 or more at auction last year. You'd have to earn $8.20 per hour and work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to buy the cheapest item on the list. Not too many work-a-day folks were making purchases from this collection.
Much of what you will find on this list are not really "books." Manuscripts are a staple of higher priced book auctions and tend to go for top prices because of their one-of-a-kind nature. So, you will see names like Washington and Lincoln, Einstein and Stravinsky, in this list, but for handwritten rather than printed matter. There are also items of art, drawings, an occasional painting and even photographs. Many of these are signed. They may appear borderline for applicability to this list, but we have chosen to include them when they have some printing, manuscript or ephemeral connection and were sold in auctions heavily focused on this type of material. Artistic items sold at art auctions are not included.
As was the case last year, two auction houses dominate the highest listings: Sotheby's and Christie's. If you have a million dollar book to sell, we recommend consulting these two firms. Together, they held 95 of the top 100 spots. Sotheby's had 58, Christie's 37. With one apiece were Bonham's, Bruun Rasmussen, Swann Galleries, Bloomsbury, and The Romantic Agony. The second one hundred adds Freeman's, Pacific Book Auction, and Zisska and Kistner to the list, but the big two continue to dominate. After that comes Hauswedell and Nolte, Lyon and Turnbull, Mealy's, Reiss and Sohn, and Dorotheum.
In 2005, there were eight items that sold for over $1 million, 311 over $100,000. The millionaires were double 2004, but at $100,000, the numbers were just about the same. That latter figure is an indication that, at least at the top, prices from 2004 to 2005 were roughly the same.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
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Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachie, Paris, 1546, Parisian calf by Wotton Binder C for Marcus Fugger. €200,000 to €300,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Nausea. De principiis dialectices Gorgias, and other works, Venice, 1523, morocco gilt for Cardinal Campeggio. €3,000 to €4,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 17: Billon. Le fort inexpugnable de l'honneur, Paris, 1555, Parisian calf gilt for Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. €120,000 to €180,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Salinger, J.D. The Graham Family archive, including autographed letters, an inscribed Catcher, a rare studio photograph of the author, and more. $120,000 to $180,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of Sense and Sensibility, the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 16: Massachusetts General Court. A powerful precursor to the Declaration of Independence: "every Act of Government … without the Consent of the People, is … Tyranny." $40,000 to $60,000.
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
![<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/9a74d9ff-42dd-46a1-8bb2-b636c4cec796.png "<b>Sotheby’s, Dec. 16:</b> [Austen, Jane]. A handsome first edition of <i>Sense and Sensibility,</i> the author's first novel. $60,000 to $80,000.")
