AbeBooks Top 20 Highest Prices for April-June 2019
- by Michael Stillman
We have selected Newton's book for our cover image in the belief it will get the greatest number of people to look at the article.
AbeBooks has released its latest quarterly list of the Top 20 or so books that brought in the highest prices on their website. These are actual sales, not asking prices. Sometimes, these lists are dominated by particular types of books. Not this time. The types of books are diverse and if this list reveals something about the direction of collecting interests, it does not reveal it to me. We will leave it to the reader to detect a pattern. Here it is.
17 (tie). Barack Obama printed manuscript with hand corrections. Obama was writing an editorial concerning lobbyists, special interest groups, and campaign financing in 2007, a year before his election as President. A lot has changed since he was President. $7,500.
17 (tie). The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, by Frederick Engels & Florence Wischnewetzky. In a word, it was tough. $7,500.
17 (tie). The Natural History of North Carolina by John Brickell, printed in Dublin in 1737. Brickell spent six years in the colony as one of its first doctors. $7,500.
17 (tie). Book collection belonging to Carolyn D. Wright. Carolyn Wright was an American poet who died in 2016. It includes numerous modern first editions. $7,500.
17 (tie). Dracula by Bam Stoker. May I kiss you on the neck? $7,500.
17 (tie). Mechanismus der menschlichen Sprache nebst Beschreibung seiner sprechenden Maschine, by Wolfgang von Kempelen. What else is there to say? $7,500.
16. Sumo by Helmut Newton. A 1999 book of Newton's fashion photography that is a regular AbeBooks top seller. $7,637.
15, L'Oaristys by Theocrite. An 1896 French edition of this 3rd century Greek poet's work with illustrations by Georges Bellanger. $8,136.
14. Works of Virgil. A more modern poet (1st century BC). This is a 1529 French edition with 205 woodcuts. $8,164.
13. An Explanation of the Observed Irregularities in the Motion of Uranus on the Hypothesis of Disturbances Caused by a More Distant Planet, by John Couch Adams, published in 1846. The more distant planet proved to be the discovery of Neptune. $8,407.
11 (tie). Aspen Magazine numbers 1-10. A complete run of this 1960s art and culture magazine published in Aspen, Colorado. $8,500.
11 (tie). The Holy Bible, translated by Julia E. Smith, an 1876 American edition. This was the first translation of the Bible by a woman. $8,500.
10. Sumo by Helmut Newton. Once again. Comes with its own book stand. $8,525.
9. Nobiliario Genealógico de los Reyes y Títulos de España, by Alonso Lopez de Haro. A 1622 book about the bloodlines of Spanish royalty and aristocracy. $8,973.
7 (tie). The Wood Beyond the World, by William Morris. One of 350 copies of the 1894 first edition of this fantasy novel famous for its wood engravings from Morris' legendary Kelmscott Press. $9,000.
7 (tie). The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Arthur Conan Doyle. The George Newnes 1902 first edition with a laid in letter by Doyle. $9,000.
6. Canto General, by Pablo Neruda. Signed 1950 limited first edition by the Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet. $9,200.
5. We Seven by "The Astronauts Themselves." This is a 1962 book written and signed by America's original astronauts, the Mercury Seven. Those "astronauts themselves" were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. Each contributed at least three essays. $12,000.
4. Sanctuary, by William Faulkner. A 1931 first edition with a laid-in author signature. $12,500.
3. Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, by Denis Diderot & Jean le Rond d'Alembert. Lighting up the Enlightenment. Generally known simply as the Encyclopédie, published in 17 volumes 1751-1772, this was not only an encyclopedia but an advocate for intellectual and democratic institutions. $16,868.
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Move over, Faulkner. One good southern author deserves another. This is a 1960 signed first edition. $17,000.
1. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, published in 1953. James Bond just killed the mockingbird. He finishes number 1. $19,600.
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Galileo Galilei. Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo tolemaico, e copernicano. Firenze, 1632
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Saverio Manetti. Storia naturale degli uccelli. Firenze, 1771-76
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Fortunato Depero. Depero futurista. Rovereto, 1927
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Nicolas Visscher. Atlas minor sive totius orbis terrarum contracta delineat ex conatibus. Amsterdam, circa 1649-95
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Andreas Vesalius. Anatomia. Addita nunc. Antiquorum Anatome. Venezia, 1604
Aste Bolaffi, June 17-18: Tristan Tzara and Salvador Dalì. Grains et Issues. Parigi, 1935
Bonhams, June 14-23: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presentation Gold Pocket Watch. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Presentation Copy of the First Issue of the Lincoln Douglas Debates Signed by Abraham Lincoln in Pencil to a Sangamon County Illinois Republican. Estimate: $150,000 - 250,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: A Senate Resolution Signed in the Tense Days After the Union's Humiliating Defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run. Estimate: $80,000 - $120,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Seven Passages to a Flight, an Artists Book with a Story Quilt by Faith Ringgold, the Publisher's Own Copy. Estimate: $80,000 - 120,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: A New Charter for Virginia, A Response to the First Armed Rebellion in the American Colonies. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Earliest obtainable printing of the Bill of Rights. Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Edward Curtis Orotone. Estimate: $7,000 - 9,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: Owned by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: A Butter or Dessert Plate from FDR's State Dinner Service. Estimate: $3,000 - 5,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: An Early Large-Format Plan of the City of Washington. Estimate: $1,500 - 2,500
Bonhams, June 14-23: Containing the First Map to Name the Hudson River. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: America's First Major Novelist, a Complete Chapter in Autograph Manuscript by James Fenimore Cooper. Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000
Bonhams, June 14-23: The Only Full-Length Book by Jefferson, with the Justly Famous Map. Estimate: $12,000 - 18,000
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: Houdini's biography, boldly signed. $3,000 to $5,000.
Doyle, June 25: A volume from Abraham Lincoln's library, signed just before heading to Washington for his inauguration. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very early Confederate recruiting manual belonging to the chief commissary in Lee's Army. $600 to $800.
Doyle, June 25: Rare hand-colored lithographs of the life of Napoleon. $20,000 to $30,000.
Doyle, June 25: The "Holster Atlas" of the American Revolution. $5,000 to $8,000.
Doyle, June 25: Jewish ceremonies in fine hand-colored engravings. $7,000 to $10,000.
Doyle, June 25: A very rare work on Turkish military costume. $1,000 to $1,500.
June 25, 2026
Doyle, June 25: The most important illustrated work on the Mexican-American War. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: The finest illustrated book on Afghanistan. $10,000 to $15,000.
Doyle, June 25: Henry Justice Ford St. George rescues the Princess from the horrible Dragon. $2,000 to $3,000.
Doyle, June 25: A rare work of Prussian Army uniforms under Frederick William II, with exquisite hand-colored engravings. $800 to $1,200.
Doyle, June 25: Lenny Bruce typed letter signed to a Village bohemian during his obscenity trials, with a manuscript note and drawing. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: Schiff's scarce Shanghai Sketchbook. $300 to $500.
Doyle, June 25: The first accurate published representation of the American flag. $2,000 to $4,000.
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 123. Celebrate 250 Years of Independence with Original Stars and Stripes (1790) Est. $1,400 - $1,700
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 20. Keulen's Spectacular Chart of the World Featuring California as an Island (1728) Est. $12,000 - $15,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 42. Schedel's Ancient World Map with Fantastic Humanoid Creatures (1493) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 591. Matching Set of 3 Stunning Globe Gores of Eastern Asia from Coronelli's 3.5 Foot Globe (1688) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 9. Speed's Popular World Map with Allegorical Representations of the Elements (1651) Est. $14,000 - $17,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 168. First Separate Map of Kansas & Nebraska Territories (1854) Est. $5,500 - $7,000
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 43. Only Macrobius Map with Britain Attached to Europe (1515) Est. $800 - $950
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 250. Rare Map of Boston and One of the Earliest Maps of the Revolutionary War (1775) Est. $2,000 - $2,300
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 79. Schenk's Uncommon Map Featuring Two Figurative Title Cartouches (1696) Est. $1,200 - $1,500
Old World Auctions (June 17): Lot 681. Hand-Colored Image of the Annunciation to the Shepherds (1502) Est. $800 - $950
Sotheby's Book Week 2 June - 9 July
Sotheby’s, June 25: Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, on its 250th anniversary. $180,000 to $250,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Fontana, Lucio. Concetto Spaziale. 1967. Leporello en papier doré. Bel exemplaire signé. €4,000 to $€,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Fitzgerald, F. Scott. "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past”. $150,000 to $200,000.
Sotheby’s, June 25: Washington, George (as First President). Washington decries “an ostentatious imitation, or mimickry of Royalty” in his Presidency. $250,000 to $500,000.
Sotheby’s, June 17: Lope de Vega. Rare manuscrit autographe signé de la préface dédicatoire de "El Cardenal de Belen" (le cardinal de Bethléem), pièce composée en 1610. €40,000 to €60,000.
