10. Two original drafts of the Balfour Declaration and dozens of other documents forming a collection of founding materials for the State of Israel. $884,000.

9. A dedication copy of the first printed book on algebra by Luca Pacioli, dated 1494. $972,000.

8. A no later than 1470 vellum copy of one of the greatest classic natural history works by Pliny The Elder. $1,095,000.

7. A pre-Norman Conquest (1066) Anglo-Saxon manuscript. Manuscripts of this age are practically unobtainable in the market, this being the exception. $1,400,000.

6. Edward Curtis' North American Indian Portfolios and Volumes, with a signed forward by Theodore Roosevelt. $1,416,000.

5. A mid-13th century three-volume Bible from northern France. $1,849,000.

4. The lost autograph manuscript of Beethoven's Grosse Fuge in B Flat Major. $2,052,000.

3. The two-volume Italian Doria Atlas, circa 1570, containing 188 manuscript and printed maps. $2,664,000.

2. A 1459 244-leaf illuminated manuscript from Italy of Virgil's ancient Roman epic, from the collection of Dr. Martin Bodmer. $3,072,000.

1. The double-elephant folio broadsheets comprising the first publication of John James Audubon's Birds of America. Some people consider this second only in collectibility of printed material to the Gutenberg Bible. This was a one-owner copy, purchased new and held continuously by the Providence (Rhode Island) Athenaeum. $5,616,000.

For the complete AE 500 list for 2005, CLICK HERE. Note that the titles for each listing are actually links to their full descriptions.

So much for the past. For those of you who would like to see what comes up for sale in 2006, maybe even make a purchase, AE offers some excellent tools. On the top of this (and every) page, you will see a keyword search box for live auctions. Simply enter a topic or name of interest and we will instantly search the posted listings for books and related material from over one hundred worldwide auction houses. There is simply no other easy way to search the listings of so many different auctions.