The top priced book sold on AbeBooks in 2009, by Giovanni Battista Piranesi.
By Michael Stillman
In 2009, AbeBooks regularly had around 110 million books posted for sale on their website. We don't have the figures, but estimate something in the 8 to 10 million area were sold, mostly used books, intended for reading, reference or school. The average price was probably in the $20 range. This story is not about the average Abe book. It's about the very best. Occasionally, the site is host to the sale of the uncommon, rare or antiquarian book. This is where Abe intersects with the world of highly collectible books. As 2009 came to a close, AbeBooks went back to its sales for the year and compiled a list of the Top 10 prices paid during the previous 12 months. Actually, there are 12 books in the Top 10, though the numbers only go through 9. That riddle is solved with the word "tie." Here, then, are the most expensive books sold via the AbeBooks website for the year 2009.
9. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger' s tale of youth, a first edition published in 1951. $11,000.
9. Tender is the Night, another first edition of an American classic by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1934. $11,000.
9. The Origin of Species, an 1860 first American edition of the book that introduced Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. $11,000.
9. The Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ, an item perhaps more appealing to those who do not care for the #9 above. This is a 1931 Golden Cockerel Press edition by Eric Gill. $9,000.
8. Imre: A Memorandum by Xavier Mayne (pseudonym for Edward Irenaeus Prime-Stevenson). Inscribed by "X.M." This 1906 novel is considered the first to portray a homosexual relationship in a positive light. $12,000.
5. Works of Charles Dickens, a 22-volume Chapman and Hall set, along with a note of presentation dated 1859 from Dickens. $12,500.
5. Libellus ysagogicus Abdilasi Id est servi gloriosi dei: qui dicitur Alchabitius ad magisterium iuditiorum astrorum, a 1485 German edition of the works of 10th century Arabian astrologer Alchabitius. $12,500.
5. Dreams of My Father, published more than half a millennium after the previous item (1996). This is a first edition of the book by now President Barack Obama. $12,500.
4. YA-WAE PA-HU-CAE E-CAE AE-TA-NAE E-TU-HCE WA-U-N A-H A. Original Hymns in the Ioway Language by William Hamilton & Samuel M. Irvin. This is an 1843 hymnal in the Ioway dialect published by the Sac Mission Press. $13,500.
3. The Dark Tower Series, first editions of all seven volumes in the series in a signed slipcase from author Stephen King. $14,000.
2. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, first London editions (1866, 1872) of the classics written by Lewis Carroll and illustrated by John Tenniel. $14,377.
1. Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de'Romaniand Osservazioni sopra la Lettre de M. Mariette by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. This is a book about ancient Roman structures, containing Piranesi's etchings of them. $17,000.
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. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
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…
![<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.")
